Our second Woodfiring Workshop – Beyond the Basics also served as a training firing for two Waikato potters who will be helping in the future with firings in the Phoenix kiln at the Waikato Society of Potters. We all had pots in the kiln, but the emphasis on this firing was for the students to understand and undertake all the rolls with loading and firing a wood kiln; from picking pots, designing the stack, wadding, placement, wicketing-up, starting the fire, stoking to the log and adjusting the kiln dampers, ember air and stoking door, shutting the kiln down. As there was only two students there was also few distractions and lots of time to understand the whole firing.

The only hiccup was the country plunging into a COVID lockdown on the night before the kiln was due to be unloaded. However that didn’t stop me unloading the kiln as coincidentally, exhibition entries for two major competitions were due the same week and I needed to see if any of my work would be good enough to enter. There are some kiln maintenance tasks still to complete once the Waikato gets back to normal and the students can come and collect their work.

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There is a tendency with workshop firings that whilst the rostered on stokers are fully engaged with the firing, the off duty students tend to not keep an eye on some of the important transitions going on in the firing cycle. This is one solution that for short fast firing kilns works. The other feature of this workshop was in the emphasis on cleaning up, so the wicket was cleaned and ground as it was removed – making the next firing easier. The kiln and firebox were cleaned – removing the wadding, ash and nails. The shelves were left due to the awful weather, but there was a demonstration of how to clean a shelf and where to apply the wash.

The kiln load was roughly divided into three portions, one third for each of the students and one third for the tutor to offset the the work preparing the wood and hosting the firing. The firing itself was a success with some great results for the students and tutor and proof that this new idea for woodfiring workshops can work.

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We got off to a great start with most students sorting out their slipping and glazing before arriving on the Saturday morning. That meant we had more time to think about how to load the kiln, putting aside the appropriate pieces for the firebox, throat steps, bag walls and underneath the first shelf – all areas that needed the right size and shape of pot.

The students rotated through the various jobs associated with loading the kiln; pot picking, prop selection (and cleaning), wadding and stacking. Some pieces were shell wadded on their sides or in stacks, different wadding was used in different areas, ramp stacking each shelf and awareness of accurate shelf placing all makes for a better load.

The firing kicked off at 6am on the day that the clocks go forward, so a beautiful dawn greeted the first stoking team. The wood was regularly hauled up from the woodsheds, a mix of gum, macrocarpa and pine pallet wood. 

The kiln follows a log, no pyrometer is used, instead observations about what’s happening in the kiln are compared to the log to see if the kiln is on schedule. We reached the soda temperature (about a cone 7) in good time and set about squirting the soda mix into the kiln in various ports. It takes about an hour to get the soda in and then the last ramp/soak to get the top cone 10 down – all up the firing was 12 hours 40 mins.

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We also looked at a sample of other potter’s work to see the solutions others have tried to integrate a lid into a form. Understanding the balance between functionality and aesthetics, between the practical and the decorative requires a experimentation and a critical eye.

Throwing on the Leach treadle wheel and off the hump proved a new experience for some, as did the trick of using dental-floss to cut off the finished lid from the hump. We had two studio clays available for students to try – the 10% and 25% mixes, which showed how different clays can influence the way you throw.

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Starting the kiln on the coldest day of the year meant an extra half hour was needed to thaw the firebox and get the chimney to start drawing. But my box of bricks soon began to hum along and follow the log in its usual predictable way. With Laurie and I hauling wood up the ramp it left the stokers to focus on calling the rhythm and monitoring the firebox.

This firing we were continuing the clay tests and a new glaze. Also experimenting with how the clay handled raw glazing – tricky when you have to slip first, dry a bit, wax, raw glaze and then wait to see if it’s too much for the clay, then decorate.

After 14 hours and a good squirt of soda all was well cooked. Unloading revealed some gorgeous pieces, some drippy glazes, some unexpected cracks (not in the raw glazed work) and interesting tests to work on for the next firing.

[See image gallery at rahuroadpottery.co.nz]

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We’re excited that our classes are finally about to get underway, so if you’re interested please let us know and we can reserve you a place in the class.

Dates: Wednesday 22nd February to 12th April (8 weeks), 4pm to 5.30pm
Cost $120, includes: clay & firing 
Minimum number of students: 4
Ages: 7 to 14
Tutor: Charade Honey
This new pottery class will teach a range of skills, covering techniques suitable for beginners. Let your imagination run wild and create in clay. 

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