In the technique section under video, I shared some video clippings of the sawdust firing process. This section is the outcome of those firings. The smoky effect obtained is always totally spontaneous, dependent on where the piece is placed in relation to the wood, how much sawdust covers it, and whether there were any air pockets between the vessel, firewood, and sawdust during the long burning process (10 + hours.) For added effect, I experimented by placing copper wire or strips (e.g., Shiele’s Black Stockings, Smoked Wave Vessel) and oxides (Blue Speckled Pouch) on the vessel before nestling it among the combustibles. The objective here is an ethereal, otherworldly effect, a vessel that beguiles, something reminiscent of the captivating appeal of the licking flames when watching a pile of logs burn.

Smoke gets in your eyes
It encircles and pervades
Do you look away?

Haiku by diMauro Burrs