- Naval Air Station Whidbey Island is home to the new Pacific Northwest Naval Air Museum.

Open year round, this museum features a lovingly restored World War II Catalina and celebrates naval aviation through exhibits, tours, reenlistments and events.

Information at PNWNAM.org.

- I historically have always been drawn to Japanese mythology.

Even at a young age, I was introduced to some of the characters that you might see in some of my pots.

I like the idea of creating stories through the work here.

- [VO] You may not have heard of Naselle, Washington, but its origin story echoes one told all over the state.

The first people here were members of the Nisal tribe, whose name was anglicized by settlers in the 1870s.

Later, Finnish immigrants established logging and fishing camps along the Naselle River just across the Columbia River from Astoria, Oregon.

The natural surroundings are what drew potter Randy McClelland here, after many years spent throwing pots in his off hours in Astoria.

He purchased a property in 2021, intent on building his own wood fired kiln.

Now he orchestrates marathon firings in the cooler, wetter months for himself and his potter friends.

- Welcome to the 11th firing of this kiln.

I call it the "Neiseru Gama," which is translated, "the Naselle kiln."

This is an exciting moment in the process where we actually do our official lighting ceremony.

I call this hour zero.

We're going to fire this kiln for 48 hours, and Penelope here, she's going to get the wood going.

So go ahead.

- [VO] It takes a village to operate this type of kiln, which has to be stoked day and night.

It also takes a lot of wood, so McClelland uses donated timber for fuel.

- Tell me about this type of kiln.

- This is a manabigama.

It's basically a cross draft kiln.

A lot of the wood is from right here.

It's all regional.

And then this firing, we're using Doug Fir, from pilings that came out of the Columbia River.

- Wow.

- [VO] McClelland's pieces are unglazed.

It's the locally sourced ingredients that create surprising texture during the firing.

That includes clay gathered along the Naselle River, which he mixes into a commercial base.

- When I make my pots, I like to see evidence of the material, the place where I live.

- [VO] McClelland starts every day by weighing a slab of clay and throwing a simple bowl.

The ritual warms up his brain and his muscles.

He uses a sketchbook to storyboard his ideas, whether a mischievous Tengu character from Japanese folklore or a supernatural gaki, or "hungry ghost," from Buddhist cosmology.

- Most of your work is functional pottery.

Have you tried strictly sculptural or are you drawn to functional pottery?

- Well, functional pottery has become my canvas, right?

So if I start from a functional piece, like a vase or a jug, I can take it a step further and add some sculptural components to it and kind of go from there.

Sometimes I want to tell a story and I don't want it to be too literal.

If you look at the vast library of yokai in Japanese culture, mythological creatures, spirits, ghosts, that kind of thing.

They're there because they want to put some way of explaining something that's unexplainable.

- [VO] Before adding facial features, McClelland perfects the form, from a whiskey jug or a lidded jar, to an ornamental vase.

His half Japanese heritage is a major artistic influence, along with face jugs from the early American South, but he also imparts his work with a hyperlocal flavor, like using crushed crab shells to enhance a clay slip.

- You just kind of mix it up ‘til it gets to this like milkshake consistency, then apply it to a pot.

Some of this will melt as it gets flux with the wood ash and it'll leave some cool effects.

- [VO] McClelland brings his vessels to life by carving into the surface and affixing sculptural elements.

The faces he creates are remarkably expressive, whether a crab demon or a loyal crow.

In the 1980s, when McClelland was attending high school in Japan, his aunt gave him a Tengu mask, the kind traditionally used in Noh theater.

This early gift influenced his current clay faces.

Fish-tailed or rat-faced, one-eyed or big-nosed, his characters range from whimsical to devilish.

- This one's going to be called "Ika," for squid.

I'm going to put some wings on it.

It'll be pretty cool.

- A winged squid?

- Yeah.

Winged squid, and it flies in the air.

- And do you remember learning about Japanese mythology as a kid, or was it something you studied later in life?

- Well, I went to the American School in Japan.

It wasn't like, you know, part of everyday learning, but it was more about just being part of the culture, which includes yokai and stories and folklore.

- And this base does have some of the Naselle River clay?

- It does.

- Yeah.

- So you're really mixing cultures?

- Yeah, and the environments too.

Right?

Like we're all connected somehow.

- [VO] At a nearby trail, in the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge, McClelland finds inspiration in a stand of ancient spruce and cedars.

These old growth giants speak to strength and survival.

- The wood is the most important material in my clay practice.

If you don't have it, if it's not prepared properly, if it's not ready, you can't finish your pots.

That's what I'm striving for, to make a pot that looks like this tree.

Really strong roots, strong base, lots of history.

It's just beautiful.

It's moving to look at this, I think.

- Yeah, it really is.

- Yeah.

- [VO] Back at the kiln, the fire has hit 36 hours of steady burning.

McClelland does a few spot checks, reading temperature gauges, looking at pyrometric cones, and seeking evidence of ash melted onto the ceramics, the decorative signature of wood fired pottery.

He prizes this lengthy process because it keeps the humans up all night, echoing the stressful conditions the pots must endure to achieve transformation.

At the 48th hour, it's time for one final stoke.

The kiln will be too hot to open for another week, but for now, McClelland celebrates a successful firing.

- We fired for 48 hours, burned about two cords of wood.

Great firing.

Great working with you.

- [Penelope] Yes.

Thank you so much.

- Cheers.

My mother gave me this Taurus conch.

Richard Rowland passed this tradition on to me, firing at his kiln.

He blows the conch at the end.

(conch sounds off) - Alright, now I want to try it.

- Okay.

(conch sounds off) - [Penelope] That was good!

(laughs) - That was fun!

I know you've dreamed of having your own kiln for a long time.

Is it everything you thought it would be?

- Yes.

This is the 11th firing of this kiln and it just keeps getting better.

If I'm living in the moment, it is everything I've wanted it to be.

- [VO] Like an ancient cedar, McClelland's work has roots that spread widely, drawing nutrients from Japanese folklore, Northwest ecology, and American stoneware, his pots hold history, humor, and heritage.

- This series was made possible in part with the generous support of Pacific Northwest Naval Air Museum.