Maho R&D

The Maho Research and Development Department (Dan, really) has been playing around with our waste oil from the kitchen. We did get flame last week, and this week Dan has been working on getting a setup that will maintain its flame. Today was our first really good test run where we were able to estimate how much "fuel" it will take to run. We estimate that to run the burner for 24 hours, we would use 15 gallons of waste vegetable oil. As time goes on, i'm sure the amount of oil used will drop as we learn how to become more efficient. The first use of the burner will be for the kiln in our pottery studio. Gail is super excited about the prospect of limiting her propane cost and we are happy to have somewhere to get rid of our waste oil. More to come in the future as Maho R&D is in full effect

when you thought it couldn't get hotter: Wood Firing

A few times a year the clay studio does a wood firing here on property. This process from start to finish takes 3-4 days including the initial heating and the cool down. We use old shipping pallets to fuel the flames. Generally they would end up at the dump, luckily we have a few sources that send to us instead of doing that. The most labor intensive part of this is breaking down the wood pallets into manageable pieces that can be put into the small opening. Staff, locals, and guests all participate. The main event takes the better part of a whole day when the fire has to be constantly maintained. Andrew Scully, a recent guest is giving a hand keeping the fire up.

There were 20 people standing around at one point during the afternoon just hanging out enjoying the process. People brought food and drinks and literally sat around the fire. A few days later the kiln had cooled enough for the bricks to be removed and the spoils of their labor revealed.

Replicating Taino ceramic artifacts

Maho Bay Clay Works is making some replicas of ancient Taino ceramic artifacts for display and education in an exhibit at the archaeology lab at Cinnamon Bay. Most of the artifacts were unearthed in the dig adjacent to the old stone warehouse on the beach at Cinnamon.

The project is being funded by Friends VINP and directed by Park Archaeologist Dr. Ken Wild, this is a wonderful opportunity for Maho Bay potters Gail and Stephanie (Stephanie pictured).

For more information or to contact Maho Bay Clay Works: http://www.mahobayclayworks.com/ and mahobayclay@earthlink.net