Join me for the Spring firing of the anagama wood kiln! Anagama style kilns are long and tapered in their design, promoting intense ash and flash development. We will load the kiln March 13, 14 beginning at 9am promptly, complete loading around 6pm each day, and begin firing later in the evening March 14. Your work will need to be ready to load March 13 at 9am, feel free to arrive after 8am. If you cannot be here for loading, or if you need to do any glazing, please plan to come March 12, 1-5pm to drop off, and/or glaze your work. Firing will be completed by March 18. Kiln unloading will be March 23 at 11am. Firing shift preference is determined by the order of registration, early registrations receive priority firing shift requests. Due to limited space, no refunds, no cancellations, no credits will be given for non attendance. Space is limited and these workshops fill within a few days, so please signup immediately if you’d like to come fire with me.

Jack Troy will join us for the firing, and will be demonstrating on the pottery wheel March 21/22 10am-4pm in the studio while the kiln is cooling. Jack is recognized worldwide for his writings, poetry, pottery, book publications, teachings, workshops, gentle smile, thoughtful conversations, colorful hats, trusty leather satchel, etc. I've admired Jack's pottery for over 25 years, enjoyed his company over meals, firings, and now I'm thrilled to bring Jack to Colorado before NCECA 2025 in Salt Lake City for a firing/demo workshop. Jack Troy, "Before firing with wood, I was content to let my work speak for my experience, but eventually the work has come to speak for its own experience."

I chose the anagama kiln for the ability to load in 2 days, fire for 3 days to achieve even temperatures without the need for side stoking, intense development of dramatic flame paths, and the incredible ash glaze buildup capabilities. A large firebox facilitates easy stoking patterns, and an elaborate sutemna chamber superheats the back of the ware chamber while slowing down the flame and ash as it moves through the kiln. The stackable space in the kiln is approximately 160 cu/ft (plus firebox), providing each of the workshop participants a variety of surface options. Wood firing color development is highly influenced by the type of clay used. I highly recommend using Cone 10-12 range Continental Clay Wood Fire Porcelain, Domestic Porcelain, or B-Clay. These readily available options are excellent choices for making your artwork for the firing. Your work needs to be bisque fired prior to arrival.

You are welcome to use Shino type glazes for the interiors of cups, vases, or closed forms, as most other glazes will bubble due to the repetitive reduction cycling throughout the heating period, and extensive cooling cycle. Slip can be used on a plate, inside a bowl, or the exterior of any surface. Pots are often loaded on their sides, or wadded between other pots. You can also use Red Iron Oxide for brush work decoration, however no other oxides or stains are permitted due to the fact they fume off onto other work. No Copper is allowed, as copper will turn all the porcelain pink for several subsequent firings.

If you review my images on this website, or the number of galleries who sell my work, you’ll notice a range of color, and depth. This is entirely achieved through the firing process. I do not use any glazes (other than a Shino glaze liner for cups, vases, etc.), I do not use any stains, I have one slip I use for the interior of bowls on occasion. I will teach you how to paint with flame, and ash, there is absolutely no need for applied glaze prior to firing. This might be a different type of firing approach than you are accustomed to, especially if you have some atmospheric firing experience previously. Actively glazing through firing allows us to explore the vast surface quality, color range, and pattern through our stoking rhythm with wood. I have a variety of wood types we will burn at different points during the firing to build “layers of glaze”. I buck and split Siberian Elm, Locust, Silver Maple, Curly Maple, Ash, and Apple wood from a tree service company in Denver. I use a small amount of Douglas Fir, and Scrub Oak harvested from my property, along with poplar, oak, and walnut trimmings from a hardwood finish carpenter supplier in Denver. This variety of wood gives us multiple options to layer ash when building surface depth and color.

The firing shift schedule will be finalized a few weeks prior via email, 2 people per shift, 6-8hr long shifts, each participant will get 2 firing shifts minimum. Meals and housing are not included, so please plan accordingly. There are plenty of airbnb, bnb, and hotels very close. Denver is 30 minute drive, and the airport is 1 hour from the studio. There are several private car services from the airport including Uber/Lyft. Need a Ride is one most folks use, call John 303-564-5858, expect to pay $70-$100 each way. If you plan to rent a car, make sure you have 4wd/awd with snow tires. Inclement weather can make driving challenging, and you will not make it up our dirt road if there is snow/ice without the properly equipped vehicle.

Students must bring cone 10 clay bisque fired (no re-fired work) work for the firing workshop. I recommend visiting my website for more information on the clay bodies I use. I’ll supply my very popular Lambert Schlip for students to use. Students should leave the exterior of their work as raw clay, or use a slip. A Shino style glaze can be used to line the interiors of cups, vases, etc.

To determine the appropriate amount of work based on the space you reserve, do the following: Use masking tape to create a space 24”x30”, stack your work 12” tall in this space as if it were glazed ware (plates can be stacked, we have to envision your work as the space it will occupy in the kiln, not how tight you can fit everything into a box), this is 5 cu/ft of space. Do the same but create a space 24”x60”, stack your work 12” tall, this is 10 cu/ft of space. This is simply a way to help you determine the appropriate amount of work for your reservation. No pieces can be more than 20” in any dimension. Please bring work up to your reserved amount of space in the kiln, we always have plenty of work to fill the kiln. Do not bring “extra work”, we do not have space and it will not go into the kiln. We may also fire the Hybrid kiln during this firing workshop.

I’ll provide slips, glaze, and wadding. We’ll learn about loading, firing, atmosphere, stoking patterns, air flow, to help develop flame paths, clay body color development, and ash accumulation. We will also have discussions about design decisions when making work for atmospheric kilns. I'll clearly explain in simple language how to assess the kiln atmosphere, temperature manipulation, stoke interval, etc. as we fire the kiln together.