Throwing the Pots
Each piece is thrown on the potter’s wheel from white earthenware clay that matures at (cone 04) 2,008 degrees Fahrenheit. Once the piece is leather hard, I use a polished agate to “rough burnish” the surface of the piece. This mashes down the larger particles of clay, smoothes the surface and brings up the finer particles of clay.
The piece is dried for a few hours and the final burnishing is started. This final burnishing makes the surface extremely smooth and shiny. There is no glaze applied to these pots.
Terra-Sigillata
When the piece is bone dry, I spray on three to five coats of terra-sigillata (very fine particles of clay), and polish with the palm of my hand and a chamois (soft leather). The work is then bisque fired at a relatively low temperature (cone 016) 1,517 degrees Fahrenheit. At that temperature, the clay body will absorb the effects of the burning combustible materials in the saggar firing. Bisquing to this temperature gives the work a fair amount of durability. At this point, the pieces are bright white.
Pit Firing
The final step is a firing technique used by many ancient cultures. As they did, I load my work into a pit (a 3' x 4' hole in the ground), and fire the ware in combustible materials (fuel). These materials may include burled wood shavings, a variety of sawdust, newspaper, straw, metal shavings, ceramic frits, used steel wool and sandpaper, and manure. The fuel is essentially someone else's garbage.
The burning of these materials traps carbon on the surface of the burnished forms. Where the fire burns hot, the surface of the form will be gray to white. Where the fire burns slowly, it will be black. The firing time is between 18 to 24 hours. Once cooled, the finished pieces are cleaned and polished three more times.
In spring 2005, I led a pit fire demonstration and workshop at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (view photos).