02/07/2026
Now that the dust has settled, I want to share a few images from the latest firing. Here are some pre- and post-firing images of the pack.
I really enjoy slipping and raw glazing the leather-hard pots. The salt and the fly ash glaze the pots during the firing. I use a St Amand stoneware clay from France, a clay I first came across when working with Gustave Tiffoche in Guerande, Brittany, whilst a student.
As we take the first bricks down from the door, it's a huge relief to see that the pots are actually salted and fired, but I always reserve judgment, knowing that it's not until all the pots are out, and we've got to know them a bit, that we can really see how successful a particular firing has been.
It was extremely windy during this latest firing. I knew this would affect the outcome and indeed it did. The pots came out well reduced, but less salted than usual in parts. It was as if the salt had whizzed through the kiln, hurried by the wind. When describing the process of wood firing I always say how many variables there are, one being the weather, which affects the outcome of each firing. This was the windiest firing I have ever done. So, as ever, there was much to be learned, and I hope to be more prepared when I meet such a wind again!
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