Wood-Firing Workshop Guidelines & Fees

Guidelines

Day one: Packing the Kiln

Arrive at the pottery at 9 a.m. with bisque fired cone 10 pots. Pots should be glazed and ready to be packed into the kiln. 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. Participants will begin helping pack the kiln and may be involved in wadding and handing pots into the kiln, as well as cleaning and applying kiln wash to the shelves and props, or preparing the firewood. Break for lunch and dinner as needed. Firing schedule will be discussed and participants will sign up for stoking shifts. We will work until the two layered brick door is up. Blair and Allison will begin preheating the kiln through the night.

Day Two: Firing the Kiln

The main firebox will be started at 5:00 A.M. by Allison and Blair. The first participants are expected to arrive by 10:00 A.M. Participants will follow the "shift" plan determined during the packing, each taking a stoking shift. Participants can expect to participate in the body reduction midmorning and salting late afternoon. There will be a lot of topics for discussion, including: atmospheres within chamber; types of wood and their effects on the firing; reading the flame as it passes through the chamber and out the chimney; the color of the smoke as it rises from the chimney; heat rises and more. We will fire the kiln until all cone 10’s are down. The entire firing will be supervised.

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

Safety Concerns: Please wear long sleeves, pants (all cotton fabrics, no synthetics), protective shoes and bring leather gloves, and a hat if your hair is long. Please do not bring children under the age of 16 or dogs 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

After several days of cooling, the kiln 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 the next firing. Shelves and props are scraped and stacked for the next firing. Coals are shoveled away and the firebox cleaned out. At this time, there is lots of opportunity for discussion about the firing experience and looking at the surfaces of new pots.

Workshop Fees for Classes or Groups

The fee for renting the wood salt kiln is $1200. The fee includes use of our glazes if needed, all shelves, wadding materials, cone packs, salt, and use of our wood and our supervision. The amount of participants is determined by the clay facility or the group renting the kiln and dates can be chosen based on kiln availability. Payment is due in full, by one check made out to the Pottery at Searchwell, at the packing. For additional information or to check kiln availability contact Allison at 240.446.9552 or Blair at 505.629.6933; or email us at Allison@allisonseverancepottery.com.

Fees for Purchasing Individual Firing Shares

A half share equals 12 x 24 x 9 inches of shelf space and is $75. A whole share of shelf space equals 24 x 24 x 9 inches of space and is $125. Payment is due in full, by one check made out to the Pottery at Searchwell, at the packing.

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

Clay bodies

Blair and Allison suggest Phoenix, 306, Helios, Mackenzie’s 470 or 130. Please know your clay. Clay bodies must be cone 10. If you’re not sure what the capabilities of the clays are, do not bring to the firing. This will prevent major accidents with other participants' pots and reduce the risk of damaging the kiln shelves. These clays are all available commercially through your local clay dealer. Ask for a wood-fire 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.

Glazes

If you are just starting out with wood firing Blair and Allison recommend no glaze on your work. This gives the participant an opportunity to see their 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. 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.

Forms

Allison and Blair 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.

In Closing

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. 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.

Blair Meerfeld and Allison Severance reserve the right to tell any individual to leave the Pottery At Searchwell. All firing decisions are made by Blair or Allison. Participants are more than welcome to photograph the firing, the kiln and the grounds at Searchwell. All published material, whether in print or on the internet, however, must list a credit for the property (Searchwell or the Pottery at Searchwell), and the potters Allison Severance and Blair Meerfeld.

The Pottery at Searchwell, Allison Severance, Blair Meerfeld and the Art League are not responsible for any firing accidents.

For directions to the Pottery, please visit /misc/directions.htm; and for a list of local accommodations, please visit /workshops/index.html#Accommodations.

The Pottery at Searchwell
18839 Manor Church Road
Boonsboro, Md. 21713

240.446.9552

www.allisonseverancepottery.com