We are on Spring Break for this next week and since we have had rain most of this week, we have not been able to fire the burnished pots. It looks like the weather will allow us to fire them this next week so we are aiming for Monday. I am assisting my student teacher at his house since this technique is new to me also.
Pit firing is a great way to finish off burnished pots. The pots will have the black and grey smoke marks from being in contact with the smoke and combustible materials. Other colors such as a warm red, yellow, and pink colors can be obtained also by adding chemicals into the pit firing.
There are many ways to do a pit-firing. The pots are all affected by many variables such as type of pit firing, clay used, fuel used, chemicals added, and the altitude where they are fired.
A pit can be of any size from small enough for one person to fill or large enough for hundreds of pots. We will be using a galvanized tub purchased at Home Depot for approximately $20.
The firing usually takes 3-4 hours.
This information is taken from the book Low-firing and Burnishing by Sumi von Dassow. I will shoot photos of the process to upload in more detail. Here are a few general ones for a "sneak a peek".
Photos by Steve Revill
The preview pictures helped me understand the firing . . . I was having problems visualizing it. I see the kindling, but do you have to have any other fire starter and do you continue adding wood?
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised to see this done outside. I thought you guys had inside ovens that you did your firing in. Do you have the equipment inside to do this and just prefer to do it outside or, are you only able to get the effects mentioned above by doing the firing outside? It takes real dedication to do this during your Spring Break!
ReplyDeleteI have two kilns at school for our normal oxidation firing. The fun of this one is that the pots will become black which is not possible in our school kilns (except with a black glaze.) These are quite unique. The atmosphere in the kiln is what makes the black smoke appearance. We just light the fire like you would any wood pile. The wood on the outside of the tub and pine cones, etc. will burn but no more wood is added either. When this burns up, the pots cool and then we sift through the ashes to find our pots.
ReplyDeleteI'll take photos of the process and then you will understand. I'll add more information with the photos this week as I post them.
I'm curious as to what chemicals you add during the firing? Do you have to wear protective gear or a ventilation mask? I know that when potters mix their own glazes or spray them on the surface of their pots, they often are advised to avoid chemicals. I look forward to viewing the finished results!
ReplyDeleteYou're lucky that you're not in south Georgia since they have a burn ban (too dry).
ReplyDeleteThe process sounds a bit dangerous if it's done outside so I hope everything will be okay for you and your student teacher. If everything goes well, I'm sure the pots will turn out beautifully. Can't wait to see some pictures of the end result.
ReplyDeleteI have seen photos of the process but have not actually done it myself so I am a bit anxious. My student teacher is a potter though and has done it many times. I think he has invited most of the Kennesaw State University Ceramics dept. over also so there should be many people who have done it or are interested. I'll share photos later.
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