Page 20-Wednesday, July 19, 1978-The Michigan Daily
Winning Kiln God to scare demons away

By MICHAEL ARKUSH
Don't worry about any evil spirits in-
vading the friendly confines of the
city's Arts Festival because a group of
ceramic artists will hold a contest
featuring the arch enemy of the spirits,
the Kiln God.
The winning kiln creation should be
the most beautiful, creative contestant
and should exhibit the greatest
input of effort. The sculpture com-
petition takes place July 21 and July 22.
Clay firing can be' a very unpredic-
table process.
The sculpture, which ranges from
two to 12 inches high, protects the ar-
tist's precious project as it's fired - the
point to which the clay is heated to its
melting point.
But the Kiln God is primarily a
superstitious object, created to bring
good luck to the firing and scare any
evil spirits who may plan to interfere
and sabotage it.
Adelle Barres, a former University
ceramics student who volunteered to
organize the contest, said only one and
a half teams had submitted entries but
she expects more contestants to enter
on the day of the event.
"I've been trying to contact teams of
artists who are in Florida and Seattle
who I think will be here for the event,"
she said last week.
Prizes for the winners include free
movie passes, meal tickets and wooden
panels. Barres said other prizes may be
selected but she said she would have to
wait to see how many contestants enter
the event.

Barres said she researched the origin
of the Kiln God and found it to be
largely an American creation. She said
people in India and Japan have offered
numerous sacrifices to the god to
receive a good firing.
"It's kind of likea harvest god, where
sacrifices are offered in the hope of get-
ting a good harvest," said Barres.
She said the Kiln God represents the
beauty and spontaneity of clay. "Kiln
Gods can often come out very different
but they are usually very pretty," she
said.
The Kiln Gods in this year's contest
will have a minimum height of 12 in-
ches. Special booths for the event will
be located on Main Street and on the
corner of East University and North
University where the Waterman-Bar-
ber Building once stood.
Barres insists the event is mainly
"designed to be a fun project" and
rejects any notions of intense and
serious competition.
"The artists are just trying to create
a spontaneous figure of art. They
should go crazy trying to mold
something beautiful. People should love
it," said Barres.
She advises spectators to visit the
exhibit daily but to watch intently on
Friday because "that is when the real
creation begins to take form."
Bonnie Wilt, a painter, Bob Black, a
potter and Barbara Dale, a represen-
tative of the Yaw Gallery in Bir-
mingham will be judging the event.

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God ... to some
Superumbrella tops it-

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(Continued from Page 16)
University Avenues.
A design feature of the Superum-
brella, which rises 14 feet from the
ground on an alumium shaft, is a
drainage system whereby rain can flow
through the central shaft rather than
over the edges of the canopy. "This way
we can keep the area as dry as possible
and bring water down to a low level in
the streets," Hagerty said.
Superumbrella will cost about $5000,
but as more of the structures are built,
Hubbell expects the figure to be nearly
halved.
Besides affording a comforting shade
to passersby, the huge parasol severely
limits any downpoints. "People won't
trip over any excess wires as the um-

brella is held up by one central shaft,"
Hagerty added.
Superumbrella is a versatile structure
and can adapt to the needs of any par-
ticular fair or event. The work is set up
so that one umbrella could eventually
be connected to another or a group of
umbrellas so as to providea continuous
canopy.
Before the fair, the structure will
have been tested in a wind tunnel to in-
sure its strength and prove its ability to
withstand winds up to 60 miles per hour.
The first superumbrella will be
donated to the Ann Arbor Street Fair
and will serve as one of its symbols
along with last year's fabric creation,
the Graceful Arch.

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