About wood fired ceramics
For thousands of years, humans have made and appreciated wood fired ceramics Since the invention of electric and gas kilns, wood fired ceramics have become a rarer art form. As a consequence, their unique beauty is highly valued by makers and collectors throughout the world.
Wood fired pottery is pottery that has been fired in a kiln fuelled by burning timber. This makes it different from other forms of ceramics, which have been fired in kilns using other sources of heat, most commonly electricity or gas.
Wood firing requires a huge amount of labour, both in preparation of timber and throughout the firing. The kiln is usually fired around the clock for several days, by a team of dedicated potters and helpers. Depending on the stage of the firing, stoking may take place as frequently as every 3 minutes. Often, the kiln is fired to achieve temperatures rising to up to over 1300 degrees Celsius, similar to the heat of volcanic lava.
Wood firing is often considered the most ecologically friendly form of firing for ceramics, as it uses a renewable source of fuel and low tech kiln construction methods. Timber used in a wood firing is usually discarded and waste timber, whether offcuts from commercial needs or fallen timber. Living trees cannot be used in a wood firing, as they are too green to burn well and achieve the necessary temperatures for a successful ceramic outcome.
Relatively few potters use wood-firing as the process is very demanding and requires a great deal of time, as well as the space to construct a kiln, usually on non urban land. Wood kilns can also be considerably more expensive and time consuming to construct and more difficult to design than most other types of kilns. Years are invested in learning the particular firing techniques unique to each kiln, and there are learnings in every firing. For these reasons, opportunities to be included on a firing team are limited and highly prized amongst many potters.
Wood firing isn’t easy, but the results are incomparable. The work in wood kilns reveals the story of the firing, with pieces showing ash deposits and the path of the flame through the kiln. The temperature and flame path is volatile in a wood fired kiln and the outcome is therefore “in the lap of the Gods”. A wood fired potter takes a huge effort effort and more risks with the firing of his or her work and is rewarded with a unique outcome, considerably different to work fired by other methods.
If you would like to see a map of the location of wood fired kilns in Australia and other information about Australian wood firing, you may find the sidestoke.com website here of interest. It was created by esteemed Australian wood firer Arthur Rosser, who passed away in 2020.
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