View Larger Image Rope-top pitcher, 13 inches (33 centimeters) in height, with brushed slip glazes, trailed slip and glaze, wood fired to cone 10.

December 10, 2007

Wood Fired Doesn't Mean Brown

by David Hendley | Read Comments (3)

The currently popular style of wood-fired pottery that emphasizes raw clay surfaces, ash runs, Shino glazes and flashing is so pervasive that one seldom sees contemporary wood-fired pottery that embraces other traditions. There is more to life than ashes and shades of brown. Over the past several years I’ve developed what, for me, is a good balance between colorful and purposeful glaze and slip work and the rich, somewhat random, unpredictable effects of wood firing.

Wood Firing for the Solitary Potter
A big kiln requiring several-day firings is not the best choice for a solitary potter wanting to make a living. My kiln fires in less than ten hours. For my first efforts in wood firing, I simply used leftover glazes from my gas-firing kiln in the city and glazed the pots all over, as I was used to doing. I immediately saw a difference in the glazes--the colors were deeper, the visual textures were richer. With each firing, I started leaving larger areas of the pieces unglazed to take advantage of the flashing from the flames and ash circulating throughout the kiln. Soon, I started developing glazes and slips specifically to take advantage of the effects of the wood firing. I now use glazes formulated specifically for my kiln. To learn more about Hendley’s practical problem solving in the studio, check out Explore the Surface, an upcoming Potter’s Council workshop dedicated to clay surfaces.

Using Slip Glazes
The interiors of the pots are still glazed in a traditional way, by dipping and pouring after bisque-firing, but rims and exteriors are glazed and decorated while the clay is still wet. I think of this as slip work, but many of the “slips” are actually glossy glazes that have been reformulated to have the high clay content required to make them usable in this way. Applying slips by brush to wet clay means that there will unavoidably be variations in the thickness of the application, and that the surface will show the effects of flashing where it is thin. When I’m ready to decorate a piece, I usually have a selection of eight to ten slips standing ready, with a brush in each batch. I want to intermingle the various slips so there will be many modulations of colors and textures.

Adding Detail
The final step in my slip-glazing procedure is to include some hard-edged designs to contrast with the broad painted areas of slip glaze. I found that brushes could not give me the detail I wanted, so I started experimenting with hypodermic needles. At first, I simply used the slip glazes I already had on hand to add these details, but I soon began formulating recipes to use specifically as overglaze colors. For further information on Hendley’s (and many other artists’) approach to glazes, including techniques, recipes and tips, check out Glazes: Materials, Recipes and Techniques.

It All Comes Down to the Fire
Once you have a good understanding of how glazes work, you can concentrate on the most important aspect of working with glazes: Fire. The fire is the ultimate test that separates ceramics from all other materials and art forms. The thought has been thought, the work has been done, the feeling has been created, but it still must pass the test. Fire transforms. It purifies.