Wood-Fired Ceramics: Contemporary Practices

by Coll Minogue, Robert Sanderson

Hardcover: 160 pages
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press (2000)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0-8122-3514-2
Dimensions: 11.1" x 9.0" x 0.7"
Shipping Weight: 1.98 lbs.

There has been a dramatic increase in the number of potters firing with wood, particularly within the last 30 years. At face value wood-firing can be described as the process whereby wood is the fuel used to fire pottery kilns, which have been have been specifically designed for that purpose. In an age when technology has produced kilns capable of attaining high temperatures in a matter of a couple of hours, it is perhaps remarkable that many potters choose to build and fire kilns which are labor intensive and require constant attention throughout the entire period of the firing, which may last up to several days. There is obviously then more to wood-firing than the process itself.

For the wood-firers of today, wood-firing represents an entire aesthetic which evolves from personal choices of both materials and processes. Some seek "the quiet touch of the flame" accentuating a glazed surface, or giving subtle ash effects on unglazed surfaces. Others combine wood-firing and salt or soda glazing to achieve satisfying effects. Yet others want their work to 'really look wood-fired', bearing evidence of the intensity of fire over many days of high temperature firing. What they all have in common is an attraction to the process of wood-firing, which allows them to be both actively and creatively involved in the firing.

In Wood-fired Ceramics, Coll Minogue and Robert Sanderson briefly describe the development of the main types of wood-fired kilns used by today's potters. They then present the aesthetic aims, working practices and kilns of an international group of artists. Kiln-firing logs; clay, glaze and slip recipes; and kiln plans are also included. The work, by over 60 artists, which illustrates the text, is representative of the diversity of styles in contemporary wood-fired ceramics.