woodfiring in portugal

I have spent my third in a raw new year’s eve in Portugal, for a wood firing in Clay Kitchen. Amazing place, kiln, people.

A great occasion to meet new potters from around the world, and to see old friends. Other than a great firing!

This year for the first time I was able to bring pieces only made in collected clay. The train kiln is designed to deliver a lot of ash, and it didn’t fail. Most of my pieces went in the kiln only glazed on the inside, and the smooth light blue finish you can see is all due to the ash of the burnt wood, which fly through the kiln and on the pieces, melting on the hot clay and forming a glaze.

These are a pretty intense couple of weeks.

It took Mirko (Fisko Pottery) and I two days and a half of driving, with the car full of bisque ware, leaving Bologna on christmas day. Once arrived, and unloaded the pieces, we took a couple of days for the glazing process. I kept it very minimum, using only an ash glaze, a couple of shinos and an oribe.

Then it was wadding time: every single piece going in the kiln must be placed over at least three small refractory balls, to avoid sticking to the kiln shelves, a time consuming but necessary process. It also can be fun to use wadding creatively, thinking about the marks it will leave or placing it in unusual places, allowing for pots to be fired sideways, or one inside another. I also used shells, for they leave a beautiful impression on the surface of pots.

The loading of the kiln, the main and the salt chamber, took a couple of days. Great attention must be used, focusing on imagining the path of the flame and the impact it will have on pots.

Then, finally, the fire is lit and an 100 hours firing starts. I was lucky to get 3 fun and intense shifts with amazing peolpe: the first of the year, from new year’s midnight, with Sara Guerreiro, then with Madalena Marques and the last shift of the firing, with Monique Robinson (Lockerroom). We also did hikidashi a couple of times, a technique which involves taking pieces out of the hot kiln and quickly cool them down, giving different and interesting resuslts.

The next couple of days are for cleaning and some rest.

The pottery is surrounded by beautiful places and landscapes with ocean views, like Cabo Serdao, with its lighthouse and amazing quartz veins; also the town of Villanova offers great food and a beautiful and characteristic market.

The kiln opening is always the moment of truth, when the top of the kiln is lifted, light starts to hit the newborn pots and reveals the results of this massive effort.

The unpacking must be done slowly and carefully, all the pieces are set on tables, and the view of this sea of pots is amazing. Around 900 pieces literally emerging from ashes are a great view, and a reward for all the work done and time spent.

It was then time for goodbyes, pack the car and come back home.

But the work in not done, every piece must be cleaned and sanded from wadding…but this is another story.

It is important to emphasize the great group of people involved in this firing. I believe we couldn’t have achieved such amazing results without the effort and focus everyone demonstrated throughout the two weeks.

Thanks for reading!