Mastering Kilns and Firing: Raku, Pit and Barrel, Wood Firing, and More (Mastering Ceramics)

Mastering Kilns and Firing: Raku, Pit and Barrel, Wood Firing, and More

GETTING STARTED

BEFORE WE EXPLORE KILNS AND FIRINGS, THERE are a few important basics to cover. After all, when you’re starting out even the terminology can be confusing! Raku, pit, and barrel are all firing types. While wood firing is a firing type, it also references the fuel source. If a raku, pit, or barrel firing is fueled with wood, it can also be considered wood firing. Why does this matter? I wanted to mention this up front because in this chapter I’ll cover wood sourcing and storage. This information is useful for those considering any alternative methods in this book, not only for those looking to explore wood firing (as in chapter 5). Wood is a fuel source you can easily experiment with for other firing types as well.

KILN FUNDAMENTALS

THE KILN IS ONE OF THE MOST INTEGRAL TOOLS of the ceramic artist. In order to change the physical state of clay, it must be fired. As you progress and continue your ceramics practice, you will no doubt become increasingly curious about what happens inside the kiln. This chapter will help you understand more about the kilns we’ll use in the chapters that follow and give you a basic understanding of how all combusting kilns work. It might be tempting to jump to another chapter and get started, but by understanding these fundamentals, you will be able to make better decisions during the loading and firing, and experiment more in general.

RAKU

THE FIRST RAKU KILN I EVER USED WAS LOCATED just outside the back entrance of my ceramics classroom in college. It was in a small kiln yard sequestered by the red brick building and a chain-link fence. I can still remember the clear spring afternoon when our class of about twelve students was gathered around the kiln as our professor explained how to safely use these unwieldy tongs to pull out a hot pot. Raku kilns introduced me to the firing process, so perhaps it’s no surprise that my memory of pulling those first pots out of the reduction chamber is as clear as if it happened yesterday. There was such a sense of wow!

PIT & BARREL

WHEN I THINK OF PIT FIRING, I IMMEDIATELY think of the wares of San Ildefonso Pueblo potters Maria and Julian Martinez. Countless times I watched a video documentary of Maria’s process of harvesting her own clay, burnishing her beautifully coiled pots with a shiny and rounded stone, and firing her pieces. They started with a soft bed of twigs, stacked on top of metal grates to help balance the pottery. They placed the pots on the metal grates and then they added a layer of twigs, sticks, and wood to fully cover the pots. The outer layer was metal lunch trays and on top of those, cow patties.

WOOD FIRING

WOOD FIRING IS ENDLESSLY REWARDING. EVERY firing is slightly different, and you must employ critical thought, problem-solving, ingenuity, teamwork, time management, and physical labor. I’ve found that even the worst firings tend to offer a gem of a pot that keeps you motivated enough to make work for the next firing. Plus, for those used to the solo practice of making pottery, there is nothing quite like coming together with friends and fellow potters to fire a kiln and celebrate the moment. In this chapter, we’ll learn about wood firing from the reference point of a train kiln.

FURTHER EXPLORATIONS

I AM CONTINUALLY INSPIRED BY THE resourcefulness and inventiveness in our field. As a community of makers working within a traditional craft, we are always looking for ways to express and discover something new while working with what is in front of us. We utilize local resources, dig our own clay, reuse found materials, upcycle old materials, repurpose tools, and continually welcome new information, adjusting our process and firing. All the while, we invite others to participate and freely share failures and successes along the way. As permanent as clay becomes when we fire it, this does not seem to hinder how adventurous we are in approaching the process of getting to that final object.