On Pit- Sawdust Firing

I’d like to share with you a few clips of a recent pit-sawdust firing I did this past summer at my studio in lovely, historical Tunbridge, Vermont.  In this process, I begin with pieces that have already been fired once (bisqued) and have been brushed with various oxides.  They are then “smoked-fired” in a large converted charcoal griller with a hood, lined in brick.  Laying the pieces on a bed of kindling firewood, I bury them in hard wood sawdust, sprinkle some “magic dust” on them (copper carbonate, copper sulfate, cobalt carbonate, ferric chloride, cobalt carbonate, etc.), then light it up and close the hood.

Approximately 12 hours later, after the pieces have cooled down, I eagerly evaluate the results, which are always a surprise. Did they all survive? Did some cracking occur that adds to the aesthetic of the piece or should that one be discarded? I read somewhere that voice recognition programs read and speak “text in the wild.”  Pit firing does something similar in that it refines the vessel “in the wild” via sawdust — in this process the flames “read” the surface of the vessel as they envelope and consume the sawdust.

For me, the joy of creating smoked pieces is working to achieve a specific effect, but knowing that ultimately, it’s a roll of the dice.  Regardless of the result, at the end of it, I am stinking of smoke, but feeling exhilarated with the ethereal results of creating smoked pieces.