Amid dancing flames the pit fired pot takes its colour and
character from the fire itself.Like the alchemist, the pit firing
potter is constantly trying to coax treasure from the plain and
worthless!
My experience with pit firing has been occasionally frustrating,
sometimes fruitful and always exciting.Each piece has a unique look
and can never be duplicated. Opening a pit after a firing is like Christmas ----
you never know what you're going to get.
Beginning with a sizeable pit dug in the ground
(my pit is 2.5 feet wide by 5.5 feet long by 2.5 feet deep) I
line it with a large amount of newspaper torn in strips. This I
cover with a quantity of small wood scraps and then a few inches of dry sawdust.
The pots,some of which have been coated with terra sigilatta and which have had an initial bisque fire, are carefully placed
into the sawdust. Some are wrapped in aluminum foil saggars containing chemicals, banana peels,
old dried teabags, copper bits, steel wool, etc. Others are placed "naked". The pots are then covered
completely with a good covering of sawdust. Small wood pieces are added, both softwood and hardwood.
Larger pieces of wood are added until a large bonfire structure sits on the pots.
With the aid of some barbeque lighter fluid the pile is set aflame.
The fire burns intensely for a couple of hours and then begins to burn more gently.
As it burns down over the next few hours the chemicals and other materials in the pit
give off compounds that change the surface of the pots and give the pieces their
unique look.The fire is allowed to smolder until it finally dies and cools.
[More pictures to come.]
Removing the pots is a thrill.Carefully reaching in (there may still be pockets of heat!!)
I take the pots from the pit.They are unwrapped if necessary and then are washed with care.
I use liquid soap and a non-scratch kitchen scrubber.After they dry they are treated with a coat or two of
paste wax or marble polish and buffed to a high shine.
