Readers have asked me to take note of the passing of Don Nibert, the Fayetteville potter known for his raku work. A friend says he died Monday of a heart attack.
Nibert’s vessels and platters are a complex, fastidious mixture of colors and sometimes carved surfaces. His instructions on how to fire raku pottery from his Altered Earth pottery website:
Take one small kiln, add one pot and fire to temperature of around 1800’ F.; open kiln and remove pot, immediately place in a ‘Reduction’ area. A ‘Reduction Area’ is, in this case, a metal trash can with something combustible like straw on the bottom. When the very hot pot contacts the straw it starts a fire, at this time you put the lid on the can. Let the pot sit in can smoldering….wait. When God tells you to, or in a few minutes, lift lid and let air in. Hope for the best.
Nibert was also a musician, playing mandolin with the Mudlarks, a Celtic band.
If you have a subscription, you can read Nibert’s obituary here. There will be a visitation 5-7 p.m. Saturday, May 12, at Moore’s Chapel in Fayetteville.