Community Firing Guidelines at Coles Pottery

Day one: Glazing Pots and Packing the Kiln

Arrive at Coles Pottery at 9 a.m. with bisque fired cone 10 pots. Glaze any pots if necessary. Participants will begin helping pack the kiln and may be involved in wadding and handing pieces into the kiln, as well as making wadding, cleaning and applying kiln wash to the shelves and props, or preparing the firewood. Break for lunch and dinner as needed. We will work until the two layered brick door is up and sealed with slurry and sand by the participants.
Firing schedule will be discussed and participants will sign up for shifts.

Day Two: Firing the Kiln

The main firebox will be started at 4 a.m. with small fires on the firebox side. This is the preheating. Under our supervision, the first participant should be expected to arrive by 7 a.m. Participants will follow the “shift” plan determined during the packing, each taking a stoking shift. Participants can expect to participate in a body reduction midmorning and salting late afternoon. Lots of topics for discussion including atmospheres within chamber, types of wood, reading the flame as it passes through the chamber and out the chimney, heat rises and more. We will fire the kiln until all cone 10’s are down and 11’s bending. The firing may last until 9 p.m.

It is totally up to the individual whether or not you want to work. If not, it is perfectly o.k. to just relax and enjoy the firing.

Safety Concerns: Please wear long sleeves, pants (preferably cotton fabrics), protective shoes and bring leather gloves, and also a hat if your hair is long. Please do not bring children under the age of 16 at anytime to the workshop. Please use caution when working around the kiln. Bring plenty of water and your meals.

Day Three: Unpacking the Kiln and Clean up

Door is unbricked and pots are unpacked. We will take turns getting inside of the kiln and handing pots out to the group. Door bricks may need light cleaning as we stack them for next firing. Shelves and props are scraped and stacked for next firing. Coals are shoveled away and firebox cleaned out. We all share these jobs. At this time, there is lots of opportunity for discussion about the firing experience and looking at the surfaces of our new pots.
Remember this is a wood firing with a chance that things may not work out to your expectations and accidents can happen. No guarantees for the perfect wood fired pot.

Amount of participants and how much work to bring

We recommend that each participant bring 12 to 18 cone 10 bisqued pots. There are glazes available here if necessary. But ideally, pots should arrive here slipped, glazed and ready to be packed into the kiln.
The wood kiln is approximately 45 cubic feet and typically fires 21 shelves worth of wares. Each shelf is 12 inches x 24 inches. A maximum of eight participants ensures everyone gets almost two shelves worth of space and all of their pots into the kiln. To help visualize the amount of space to expect in the kiln, cut a paper template 12 inches x 24 inches. We make every effort to load work on a “fair” basis, and not necessarily by equal volume. Every effort will be made to accommodate all pieces in the firing, however if individuals bring large pieces we will only be able to accommodate what fits, in fairness to all participants. Please do not bring plates, platters or any other type of flatware that cannot be wadded on top of each other or on top of other pots to save space in the kiln.

Fees and Registration for Community Firings

The fee for participating in one of our scheduled wood salt community firings is $150. The fee includes use of our glazes if needed, all wadding materials, cone packs, and use of our wood. Maximum amount of participants is eight. For additional information or to register for upcoming firings contact Nadette at nadetteboughton@yahoo.com

Kiln Rental Guidelines at Coles Pottery

In addition to scheduled firings, the wood salt kiln is available to rent by clay schools, groups or clay facilities. The guidelines listed above for community firings apply to kiln rentals also. The group may choose their own firing dates, depending on the availability of the kiln. Kiln rentals are also supervised.

Amount of participants and how much work to bring

This is to be determined amongst the members of the group or clay facility renting the kiln.

Fees and Registration for Kiln Rentals

The fee for renting the wood salt kiln is $1200. The fee includes use of our glazes if needed, all wadding materials, cone packs, and use of our wood. For additional information or to check kiln availability contact Nadette at nadetteboughton@yahoo.com

Suggestions on Clay Bodies, Forms, Glazes, Decorating Techniques For The Wood Firing

Clay bodies

A “light burning” clay body usually works best. This means a lower iron content in the clay. It “flashes” well and doesn’t turn brown completely. Stay away from high iron clay bodies unless you use a white slip over which will lighten up the surface and pick-up the wood flashing. Please know your clay. Clay bodies must be cone 10. If you’re not sure what the capabilities of the clay are, do not bring to the firing. This will prevent major accidents with other participants works or reduce the risk of damaging our kiln shelves. These clays are all available commercially through your local clay dealer. Ask for a wood-fired body and they might have some suggestions. Some are courser than others, so specify what you prefer. Having the proper clay makes a big difference in the finished results. Clay bodies used here are purchased from Baltimore Clayworks and include Phoenix and 470.

Glazes

If you are just starting out with wood firing we recommend no glaze on your work. This gives you an opportunity to see your work “glazed” and decorated naturally just by the wood ash and salt only.
When choosing a glaze make sure it is one you know melts at a range of cone 8 to cone 12. If a glaze melts at cone 8 it generally will take cone 12. Stable glazes are best as opposed to fluid glazes. If using a very fluid glaze, please be cautious not to glaze more than 1/3 of the way down on your work. This will prevent the glaze from running onto the kiln shelves. REMEMBER in a wood firing there is a great variation in temperature. Some glazes that you’re used to will react totally different in the wood fired atmosphere – so keep glazing simple. Let the kiln decorate your wares for you.
But also keep in mind, if glazes are not available to you, you are more than welcome to use the glazes here in our studio.

Forms

We will practice stacking pots using the rim to rim method or the tumble stacking method using clay wadding. This allows for total flame contact in all parts of the kiln. These stacking methods also maximize the use of stacking space and reduces the amount of kiln furniture. Keep this stacking method in mind when making pots for the wood kiln. Example: bowls made same diameter with unglazed rims can be stacked rim to rim conveniently. While loading, we will mix and match participants work for this stacking method. Please do not bring plates, platters or any other flatware that cannot be wadded on top of one and other, or on top of other pots to save space in the kiln. They consume a lot of room and cut down on the maximum amount of work we will be able to load per participant on a fair basis.