Material research and exploration of taconite mining waste
Taconite is an iron ore mined in northern Minnesota for steel production. The ore is extracted from the ground and magnetically sorted for purity. High-grade ore is loaded onto barges and shipped to steel mills throughout the Great Lakes Region. Taconite tailings with an inadequate iron content are discarded back into the environment as waste.
This series aims to address the impact of large scale mining and explore opportunities for creative ‘reclamation’ by incorporating these waste tailings into the framework of ceramic art. Waste tailings are collected and fused to ceramic tiles using porcelain slip and various glazes. The unique chemical and physical interactions between the taconite and glaze materials results a wide spectrum of effects.