This documentary, based on the 2nd International Woodfire Conference, provides an exceptional educational opportunity to enlighten and inform the general public about this little-known tradition of pottery.  Woodfired pottery is a seldom seen artistic style, as unfamiliar to the American public as it is the public of the western world.

The exhibit offers art educators a tool to open the eyes of students to the mystery, wonder, and spontaneity of natural ash glazes, as well as the wonder of firing unglazed pottery with wood.  This unique presentation, told through the eyes of some of the world's greatest potters past and present, has an editing style that captures the attention of even the beginner, using 3-D graphics and animation, accompanied by an original score by one of the world's koto masters.  It is an exciting and dramatic presentation that holds the viewers's attention from start to finish.

The film, a project of Deep Mountain Arts, and supported in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities through Humanities Iowa, was directed by Ethan Fox and produced by Tom Sulentic and Kevin Barnard.  It captures the thoughts, sentiments, and philosophies of some of the world's great, contemporary woodfire potters and their work, as it is part of the ancient Chinese and Japanese tradition of natural ash glazing.  The film explains woodfire ceramics in simple terms and traces the history of its use through the ages, emphasizing its relation to the other Japanese arts, especially the influence of the Japanese Tea Ceremony.

It is a beautiful and sensitive presentation with an original score played on the koto, an ancient Japanese stringed instrument, and the film is dramatically animated to engage both the beginner and the serious student of the arts.