PIT-FIRING
Pieces made out of wild clay warming up before going in the pit.
In January, I joined a group of fellow makers in Elgin, TX for a pit firing. It was a big, collaborative setup, with a wide pit dug into the earth and a range of surfaces and materials to play with.
For the majority of the pieces, I used a low-fire white clay body, bisque fired in advance, and applied various materials to the surface, things like copper wire, banana peels, and sawdust, to see how they might react in the fire. Pit firing is unpredictable by nature, and this was purely an experiment to see what types of surfaces I could get. Some materials created beautiful subtle color shifts.
Sadly, most of the pieces came out of the pit with hairline cracks. There was some talk afterward that the pit might not have gotten quite hot enough, or that a lower bisque temperature could have left the clay more porous and reactive. Either way, the results were informative.
This was a great way to explore a new firing technique in a communal setting, with lots of shared ideas and curiosities.
Here’s a look at my results and the materials used.
These are my favorite pieces from the pit-fire. Made from wild clay dug from the same property the pit-fire took place. These pieces had no surface treatments going into the pit, allowing the raw clay and firing environment to shine.
