Volunteers and artists feed a makeshift kiln in the early morning hours of July 13, 2012 on the premises of the 577 Foundation in Perrysburg. (Photo: Enoch Wu/Sentinel-Tribune)

Artist Laurie Spencer doesn’t know how many people have had a hand in the hive-like
clay structure she created on the grounds of the 577 Foundation in Perrysburg.

"Lots," she said.
Mary Mennel, 577 director, said more than 40 people turned out to assist the
eight-foot-tall clay sculpture, and she and the board hope many more will enjoy
it.
The foundation brought the Oklahoma artist to Perrysburg to build the structure after
a twig structure on site deteriorated and had to be removed.
"What we really wanted was something interactive," Mennel said. "We
wanted to get the community involved."
That meant more than 40 volunteers helping in the construction process from preparing
the site through stripping off the ceramic fiber insulation used to create a
kiln to fire the work.
Mennel was familiar with the sculpture Spencer had created at the Toledo Botanical
Garden and at the University of Toledo. Mennel had money left to her following
the death of her mother as well as a memorial in her mother’s honor created by
the 577 board and a separate grant from Owens-Corning. Bundling those gave them
the funds to bring Spencer to the foundation.
Now that it’s finished visitors are able to do more than look at the piece. Visitors,
especially youngsters will be able to step inside, and if they sing, hear their
voices resonate inside the comb.
Spencer’s selection was also appropriate because she’s "remarkable … she’s an
artist who can teach." Her approach of using volunteers, including many of
the foundation’s pottery students, "fit perfectly in the philosophy of
577."
Spencer arrived in June. A concrete base underground was in place. In the middle a
large fire pit was dug, and around that Spencer wrapped the snake-like coils of
specially formulated clay. She left some openings shaped like leaves, and
decorated the structure with the occasional vine. Once finished the piece was
left to dry for a couple weeks.

A detailed view of Laura Spencer’s sculpture. (Photo: J.D. Pooley/Sentinel-Tribune)

Spencer returned last week. The sculpture was ensconced in sheets of ceramic fiber
designed for use in space vehicles with four large stove pipes constructed
rising above the piece. First charcoal was placed in the fire hole inside the
sculpture to gradually warm the clay. The kiln reached 800 degree Fahrenheit by
the end of that phase. Then wood was placed inside. The kiln reached 2,000
degrees Fahrenheit.
During firing the volunteers helped the artist feed the fire inside the sculpture at
20-minute intervals.
Spencer monitored the heat with combs with four teeth made of ceramic composite. Each
tooth melts at a certain temperature. Spencer had to balance getting the
exterior hot enough without letting the inside getting overheated.
The heat must be slowly reduced, and the structure left to cool. On Sunday morning
the sculpture was cool enough to strip away the layers of insulation revealing
the almost finished artwork.
The terra cotta hued clay has a film of ash that needed to be brushed off. Inevitably
there are cracks that Spencer needed to fill. Then the structure will be coated
to help protect it from the elements.
Spencer has created about 20 of these larger pieces. The inspiration came from the
ceramic whistles she was making.
"When you get started as an artist’s like a journey," she said. "One
idea leads to another idea."
Natural forms inspired the form of the whistles. They are not intended as musical
instruments – early on she tried making instruments, and dropped the idea.
Instead the sounds they produce are intended to be "the voice of the
sculpture."
They are sensory art: "You can touch it, see it, feel it, hear it. It makes the
sculpture come alive."
Some of the sculptures though were so large that their deep voices were hard to hear
in open spaces. So Spencer started thinking about creating an enclosed space for
them to be heard.

Laura Spencer puts the finishing touches on her sculpture. (Photo: J.D. Pooley/Sentinel-Tribune)

At first she was thinking along the lines of a closet, but she said she doesn’t know
much about woodworking. Ceramics she knows, and she’s fascinated by the
technical aspects of the craft. To realize that vision though took a lot of
technical knowledge and study especially to create structures that would last.

The forms were inspired by the nests created by mud daubers in her grandfather’s barn
in Oklahoma. She watch the wasps constructing their nests by carrying bits of
dirt.
Spencer uses a clay specially developed for the project from Laguna that includes
half pre-fired material to minimize the cracking that occurs as the clay fires.
Though originally created as a venue for the large whistles, Spencer said she
finds them a better vehicle for the human voice. The voice can find the
particular pitches that best resonate in the chambers.
The structures themselves evoke images from nature and indigenous people’s huts yet
do not duplicate those forms.
"One of the ideas I play with is having something familiar but you just can’t
place it," she said. "It seems like an old friend."