Honoring Over 27 Years at Craft Alliance
After an incredible 27-year run keeping the lights on, the kilns firing, and the literal doors open as our Facilities & Office Manager, Dan Barnett officially retired from his operational duties last month. But don’t worry—while he has officially traded his clipboard for more studio time, he is staying on with us as an instructor!
To celebrate his milestone, we sat down with Dan to talk about his fascinating transition from corporate engineering to atmospheric firing, the profound permanence of ceramics, and what he’s building next in his backyard.
Here are a few highlights from our conversation.
Trading Circuits for Clay
Before Dan was wrestling 150-pound masses of clay or engineering his highly efficient Fastfire Kazegama kiln, he was working in the corporate world for Emerson Electric. But the reality of engineering didn’t quite match his creative drive.
“I followed around circuits that I basically designed, and it wasn’t being creative every day. There was a lot of paperwork… With this, I get up every day and whatever I can think about in my mind, I go ahead and can create with my hands. I can bring something out of nothing using basically humble clay.”
For Dan, the shift was about moving from a temporary, intellectual connection to his work, to a lasting, emotional one.
The 3,000-Year-Old Thumbprint
One of the most profound moments in Dan’s artistic journey happened in an art history class at SIUE, when professor Martha Earle passed around a small, white-glazed Korean tea bowl estimated to be up to 3,000 years old.
Examining the coarse, sandy clay and the slush glaze, Dan noticed something incredible left behind by the original maker:
“You can see where his thumbprints were actually in the glaze. So with that kind of moment, you’re basically seeing exactly how a potter held that piece 3,000 years ago along the same lines as how I hold one in the studio.”
The Weight of Permanence
Knowing that a well-fired piece of pottery can survive in the earth for millennia brings a certain weight to the potter’s wheel. Dan is acutely aware that the functional items he creates today will long outlast him.
But rather than letting that intimidate him, he uses it to foster human connection.
“I have a chance to make something that will outlast me by at least 1,000 years… If they use it, I have friends’ cups that I use every day, and I think about that person every time I pick it up. People that I’ve studied with, people who are friends, teachers, students. Clay has an emotional connection to me.”
What’s Next: The Unleashed Studio Practice
So, what happens when the guy who spent nearly three decades fixing other people’s broken easels and shorted-out plugs finally gets all his time back? He goes into absolute overdrive.
Dan isn’t just maintaining his current wood kiln; he is expanding. His retirement plans involve building a brand new soda kiln, transforming an old electric kiln into a rapid-fire gas kiln, and spending more time at his blacksmith forge. He’s even diving back into photography to capture organic lines in nature—like pitcher plants and candle smoke—to inspire his next wave of sculptural forms.
“Me, I’m still looking at what don’t I know in this field, and what new things can I teach myself… Not that I’m gonna give up teaching, but I just get to play and explore more in my own studio.”
Catch Dan in the Studios!
Dan may be retired from the office, but he’s still bringing his signature blend of engineering, physics, and artistry to his classes. Check out our upcoming course catalog to snag a spot in one of his wheel-throwing or firing workshops.