Pit Firing
Pit firing is the original method of baking clay and dates back to nearly 30,000 years BC. Here is how I do it.
I make my pots by throwing them on an electric wheel. These are turned when they are leather-hard and burnished to a smooth polished finish and left to dry fully before they are bisque fired to approximately 900 degrees.
Once bisque fired they are pristine and white. They are nestled into the pit in a base layer of sawdust and wood shavings, wrapped in seaweed, sometimes copper wire and or banana skins are added. The pots are then surrounded with paper and kindling and wood are piled on top … let the pyromania begin.
Once the flames have died down the fire is covered to retain the heat and left to smoulder overnight. The next day warm pots are pulled from the ashes. Now is the time of discovery, have the pots taken any colour and survived the extreme heat. This is the most exciting or heart-breaking moment.
The fire is stoked for at least 4 hours, often damp seaweed is added and salt scattered amongst the flames. The heat and colours are exciting and beautiful.
Hopefully warm copper reds and pinks, potassium yellows, black from the sawdust and a variety of speckles and colours have soaked into pots.
The survivors are then scrubbed, dried and wax polished.
Pit-fired pots may be semi-porous and are not designed to hold water for long periods of time. This makes them ideal as a whiskey tot pot or a shot pot or purely for decoration.
I hope they bring you joy