On Saturday 14th of June 'Angelfire' came to its vivid conclusion in the disused space behind Ingrams Close in Felsted. 'Angelfire' was a project in which ceramic angels created by year 9 and 10 pupils during ceramic workshops were fired within a wood firing kiln. This was a kiln resembling Felsted School Chapel. Over the three weeks before the firing Year 9 and 10 pupils created ceramic angels using plaster moulds. They would press the clay into the moulds to create miniature figures and then join shaped wings onto their backs. These were then suspended within the Chapel Sculptural kiln as it was built during the week before the firing. This kiln, again structured internally in a downdraft formation, was fired in much the same way as previous kilns. But as a first time experiment the insulation fabric was removed before the invited audience at peak temperature. This revealed the spectacle of the red hot mini chapel beneath with flames emerging from windows and doors.

Why Felsted Chapel? The Chapel is a focal architectural point within the school. It is a contained space (as is the kiln) where the whole school gathers to contemplate not so much practical matters but those of a philosophical and spiritual nature. Therefore it is an important part of the lifeblood of the school institution. Secondly there are correspondences between the purpose of the building as a space for contemplation and reflection and the kiln as a space for transformation. Both spaces are brought to life by specific creative events. In examining a time based artwork consisting of a wood firing kiln that resembles a chapel it is important to understand fully the symbolism of the fire. Bizarrely when one adds together the words 'fire' and 'church' / 'chapel' a lot of dark images come to mind involving fire and brimstone and such things as preachers scaring congregations with visions of hell. 'Angelfire' challenges these negative associations; within the wood kiln, fire acts as an agent of creative transformation. The control and understanding of the nature of fire is central to an effective wood firing. Wood firing employs fire to breath new life into clay artefacts - is a churches purpose not to also generate and invigorate life? In the bible there can be found many references to fire that also include angels. These describe angels as fiery beings and often portray god as a burning blinding presence. This binds together the whole nature of the church and the firing. The church can be seen as an architectural container for spiritual communication, and the kiln is an architectural container for communication between fire and form. Various school pupils of Felsted made angels that populated this chapel kiln. During the firing the whole chapel space became brighter than the human eye can stand, and the heat of the kiln was too intense to stand near. The angels and the chapel at the same time were transformed into stone.