Clay Art Center Artist Woodfire
Learn more from Naoko Tanikawa and Rose Foley about the Clay Art Center Artists’ recent woodfiring at the Sugar Maples Center for Creative Arts.
At the end of October, a group of Clay Art Center Artists filled their cars with bisqued and flash-coated pots and traveled to Maplecrest, New York to woodfire in a train kiln up at the Sugar Maples Center for Creative Arts. Woodfiring (an atmospheric firing technique) is one of the oldest forms of ceramic firing, and is exactly what it sounds like: firing in a kiln that is powered by a continuously-fed wood fire. The atmospheric conditions created by the roaring fire, including the large volume of ash that swirls around the kiln, react with the flashing slip that has been coated onto the bisqueware. This results in deeply toasted orange and brown coloring on unglazed clay surfaces, and highly reduced glaze finishes. Beyond the iconic aesthetic of woodfired pieces, woodfiring is also an experience. It takes many hours of continual labor to reach the correct temperatures, and whole teams of people are typically involved in maintaining the blaze. We spoke to Clay Art Center Artists and organizers of the group woodfiring Naoko Tanikawa and Rose Foley about the experience.
From Naoko Tanikawa
Q: What does the schedule and daily activity of a woodfire look like?
A: “Our group likes to bring our pots glazed and wadded [stilted and supported with a clay-like material that keeps the pots upright] so we are ready to load the kiln on the first day. We prioritize our favorite pots and load over a few hours. Unfortunately, not all pots will make it in the kiln, but it’s good to have size options when loading.
“Around dinner time, we start candling [warming up the kiln] and sign up for four hour shifts - we keep stoking the fire and feeding it wood overnight to slowly increase the temperature in the kiln. By the middle of the second day, we are gearing towards reduction firing (starving the kiln of oxygen), and finish when all cone packs are even, with cone 9/10 down all around [indicating that the correct temperature has been reached]. This could be 24-36 hours of continuous stoking, and hotter parts of the kiln might go over cone 12. We take shifts so everyone has an opportunity to stoke the kiln as well as eat and sleep.”
Q: What is your favorite part about woodfiring?
A: “I like the firing process and playing with fire, but I really enjoy and appreciate the camaraderie among our potters’ group and the potluck meals.
“Woodfiring also gives pots a different look and feel - you only get the flashing orange when the flames hit your pots a certain way, and natural ash glaze running - it’s messier and less predictable than electric or gas fired pots, but I love that surprise and effect.”
Q: What is one piece of advice you might give to someone considering trying woodfiring for the first time?
A: “Be ok with the unpredictable. You don’t know what the weather will be like while you’re stoking, how the firing will progress, how many pots will make it in the kiln and how they will come out (or if they survive the firing). It’s all part of the fun!”
From Rose Foley
Q: How long have you been woodfiring for?
A: “Clay Art Center as a group has been doing the woodfire for years with Bruce Dehnert, formerly at Peters Valley. The firings happen once a year, typically in the spring, but there have been a few years that we didn’t fire. We couldn’t fire in the spring of 2020 or 2021, due to the pandemic, and our last firing was in 2022. We have been waiting for this kiln to be finished at Sugar Maples - our firing was only the fifth firing in the kiln’s lifetime. I got involved with firing in about 2017, but this was my first time organizing it with Naoko.”
Q: What is your favorite part about woodfiring?
A: “My favorite part of woodfiring is the process - I love stoking the kilns, throwing the wood in, collecting the wood. Everyone comes together to do that, 10 people share the work. Even when it’s not your shift, everyone is excited to be there, watching the fire and helping out. We had new people this year who fit right in. For me, it’s not about the pots. I could not even put a pot in the kiln and still want to go up and have fun.”
Q: What is one piece of advice you might give to someone considering trying woodfiring for the first time?
A: “Be prepared to work hard. It’s real work - you’re stoking that fire every 10 minutes. You can’t be someone who just comes around to chit chat (although there’s plenty of that, too). Be prepared to work, and don’t be afraid of fire.”
