After twenty-one years we have decided to cease publication of The Log Book.
Issue 84 published in December 2020 is the last. This seems to be the right time to bring The Log Book  to a conclusion. The Log Book will however continue as an entity within the field of woodfiring/wood-fired ceramics as an ongoing research resource.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank the many people who have supported The Log Book over the years – subscribers, authors, readers, and others.
For information on the availability of back issues please go to back issues page
The Log Book  was established as the international publication for woodfirers and those interested in woodfiring and wood-fired ceramics, professionals, educators, students, and enthusiasts. A non-profit publication with no commercial advertising The Log Book was supported only by subscription.
Intended as a forum for the discussion of the many diverse aspects of wood-fired ceramics, The Log Book  contains articles on historical, traditional and contemporary woodfiring, together with reports on specialist woodfire related events worldwide. Reviews of books, videos, and DVDs of relevance to woodfiring are also included.
With some 400 articles published The Log Book  is to date the single largest repository for articles on the subject of wood-fired ceramics in the English language and is a significant resource documenting the aesthetics, materials, and processes of woodfiring and wood-fired ceramics.
We have been overwhelmed by the outpourings of emotion that our announcement about ceasing publication of The Log Book as a quarterly print edition has elicited from subscribers and readers worldwide.
     Following is a sampling from messages that we have received:
open-quoteIt was with sadness that I read of your decision to cease publication of The Log Book. I did not want this to pass without expressing my appreciation for all the pleasure your little periodical has given me over the years. My heart always rose when I saw the characteristic brown envelope on my doormat. You unfailingly maintained high standards in the content and presentation and it was a joy just to look at the pictures and be inspired by them. I do believe that you fostered a sense of community among wood-fired potters in a really significant way. Often when I visited other potters I would spot the latest issue of The Log Book in a corner of their workshop and feel a certain bond.
     Thank you for all the enjoyment and inspiration The Log Book has given the wood-firing community. It has been a major achievement. I wish you both well in the future.close-quote — KA, UK
open-quoteJust opened the latest Log Book . . .  beautiful as always!  I was taken aback with your note.  . . . The Log Book has been such a treat to read.  I savor it slowly and it has been such a great source of inspiration and teaching resource.  I shall miss it so !close-quote  — LC,  USA
open-quoteI must say that when I read the little paper that fell out of #84 when I opened it, I felt quite sad. As soon as I got over the sad feelings, I felt the more important feelings of gratitude. So please accept my heartfelt thanks for all you have done in the last 21 years to support and encourage potters all over the world who chose to fuel kilns with wood. Each issue that you put out was both informative and beautiful, a tribute to both process and product. It has also been a joy to see the physical paper magazine become evermore well designed. As your brown envelopes showed up in my mailbox, I knew I was in for some delightful looking and reading.close-quote  — MB,  USA
open-quote. . . Your wonderful publication has been an inspiration and fund of valuable knowledge for so long, especially during this pandemic, and will continue to be a treasure into the future.
     Immense thanks and gratitude to you both, for your dedication and hard work over so many years.close-quote  — JR,  New Zealand
open-quoteI, and all of your Log Book readers will miss your wonderful publication.  I have enjoyed receiving and savouring the reading of it.  You must be very proud of your achievement of making the understanding of the wood firing process more accessible to all potters.
     Thank you for all the enjoyment and education.close-quote  — RT,  UK
open-quoteThe Log Book arrived today and has already been read cover-to-cover. . .  You have done a superb job over the years.
  We will miss the presence of The Log Book.close-quote  — CW  and  WF,  USA
open-quoteWell I'm still in shock but I wish you well, The Log Book was the only ceramics publication I subscribed to,  just a wonderful peer to peer sharing of ideas.close-quote  — PC,  USA
open-quote. . . I have enjoyed The Log Book over the years.  It has provided a great sense of community.  A Community with values that are poetic and spiritual.close-quote  — JC,  UK
open-quoteI felt very sad about the end of your (and our and my) Log Book. . . 
     It was always an interesting pleasure to get the new issue with portraits and experiences of the colleagues all over the world, about the kilns, the firings, the pots.  I will miss all this because there is nothing comparable. . . close-quote  — TG,  Germany
open-quoteI wanted to let you know that I have enjoyed the work you have done greatly and am sad to hear that you will not continue. I thank you warmly for collecting and spreading such a great wealth of information!close-quote  — MW,  USA
open-quote. . . thank you for The Log Book !  It was great to read articles by wood firing artists from all around the world and feel the community.close-quote  — DM,  Czech Republic
open-quote. . . The Log Book presented a view of the studio world that is not really represented elsewhere so it is a sad loss.close-quote  — PS,  UK
open-quote. . . I’m a fairly junior potter and only recently come to wood firing and The Log Book was and is such a beacon of what can be achieved and what can be written about it. It was always so lovely to receive your packages.close-quote  — TB,  Australia
open-quoteTo be melodramatic, it’s as though the Momoyama Period has come to an abrupt end.  No more Log Book after all we’ve been through this year? . . . and now the final dagger in the heart.  I don’t think we'll survive : )
     Seriously, thank you for all you’ve done.  Together you’ve published a magical journal, a democratic epistle, a treasured love letter to an obscure aesthetic passion.close-quote  — MH,  USA
open-quoteI am so sorry The Log Book will not continue into these difficult times. I have enjoyed it thoroughly and I thank you for crafting such a great publication. Suffice to say I will miss it.close-quote  — JS,  Canada
open-quoteIssue 84 is a terrific issue — such a group of woodfirers, such unknown work for many to learn about, and such wonderfully reproduced photos! All in all, if it has to be, a great final issue.
     I think you have provided a unique forum for the world’s wood firers - and an amazing record of what happened during the years you published The Log Book. The field has certainly grown and our knowledge of each other’s work and kilns came to a great extent from The Log Book!
     I am grateful that you put so much of your lives into this tricky venture. . . close-quote  — PM,  Denmark
open-quoteI'm devastated to learn the discontinuance of The Log Book.  It is one of the remaining few publications that reveals humanity's creative instincts.close-quote  — MDB,  France
open-quote. . . Thank you for putting all your time and effort into The Log Book. We have thoroughly enjoyed every one and learnt a huge amount from them.close-quote  — A and TD,  South Africa
open-quote. . . The Log Book was a unique publication with such interesting and informative articles — I always got a little burst of excitement to see one waiting on the doormat and I will miss that. . . close-quote  — BK,  UK
open-quoteOnly recently started woodfiring and I am saddened to read about your magazine's closure. I am sure you are well aware that it's an invaluable resource for seasoned, aspiring, and new generations of woodfire potters alike.close-quote  — YB,  USA
open-quote. . . Thank you so much for all the work you have done, all the journeys and imagined hanging about by kilns you gave me.close-quote  — EL,  USA
open-quoteJust a note to thank you both for your considerable contribution to woodfiring. I will miss the lifeline. . . close-quote  — JT,  Australia
open-quoteAs always a delight to open the brown envelope — but the message tucked inside the front cover was a shock.  . . . What an amazing and enriching and far-reaching accomplishment The Log Book became.  You can be proud.close-quote  — LC,  USA
open-quote. . . It was always exciting to find The Log Book in the delivery box,  and it was usually read cover to cover,  often several times.  It’ll be missed.close-quote  — AD,  UK
open-quoteThank you for the last issue of The Log Book and all the work you have done in this field in last twenty-one years. Sad to hear that it’s really the last one of this wonderful publication. . . 
     I felt it especially meaningful to be part of this wood-fired ceramics community via The Log Book, because I am pretty much working alone here in Finland, not many colleagues around to share this life style.close-quote  — TH,  Finland
open-quoteI can think of a hundred sensible reasons for you to have decided to stop publishing The Log Book at this moment, but my heart sank when I read your note in the current issue. The loss of this vehicle for reflection and sharing amongst the community of wood-firing potters (and this place for others to listen in on the conversations) is a big loss, indeed, one that will be deeply felt all over the pottery world. What a great thing you have done, all these years — so generously, and to such a high standard. I’m sure that thanks and tributes are pouring into your inbox, and I just wanted to add mine, for the precious legacy and service of those 21 years of publication.close-quote  — MB,  USA