Fun
- June 28, 2008
Wood Fired Pottery
Wood Fired Pottery
Throughout history, clay has had many uses. Initially it was used as a method for creating figurines and idols. Later, it became so much more and many of those earlier uses for clay still remain today. One of which is as the tool from which pottery is created. This allowed citizens of the world, centuries ago to store precious liquids, food, and other items and proves useful for many reasons, as well as decorative, all these centuries later.
While it is widely believed that the firing of pottery is something that was learned very much by accident, it is also widely understood that the idea of firing pottery spread like wildfire, if you’ll pardon the pun. In the beginning the firing of pottery was intended only to strengthen the pottery rather than as a decorative enhancement, though the strengthening was minimal and the ability to enhance pottery creative and artistically was greatly improved.
As time moved on, as it inevitably does, various tribes and cultures made their own unique marks upon the pottery of their people. Most recovered pottery throughout history is easily recognizable according to tribe or people, not only because of the location in which it was discovered but also as the result of the artistic markings that were made upon the pottery and, in many cases, the method of firing the pottery that was used in the process of its creation.
Early pottery wasn’t glazed because of the high, sustained temperature that is required in order to glaze pieces. It simply wasn’t possible to regulate these temperatures in early societies. It was several centuries before kilns were created that would allow pottery makers to control the temperatures of the fire and reach the desired temperature to improve options for glazing these precious pieces of pottery.
Quite a while later we began using natural gasses to control and regulate the temperature for firing pottery. The problem with this is that in a world that is increasingly dependent on natural gasses and a limited supply there are many who feel this is an irresponsible method for heating kilns. Add to that the notions of global warming and worries over pollution, many are turning back to the trees for heat sources. The good news is that trees are a renewable source of energy to fuel the fires of the kilns and they burn clean. Of course this isn’t the one-size fits all solutions and it isn’t the answer that everyone has. There are still those who use natural gas or electricity to fire pottery. Wood is simply the choice that many artisans and craftsmen (and women of course) are making in order to do their part to save the planet.
That being said, wood firing is a very time consuming process for firing pottery and involves no small amount of labor. For this reason, expect to pay considerably more for pottery pieces you purchase that are wood fired. If you are planning to make your own pottery you should definitely understand that wood firing is a very labor intensive process that requires constant monitoring of the fire and in many cases constant feeding of the fire in order to maintain the constant temperatures necessary to fire the pottery properly. The results are beautiful pieces that have a low impact to Mother Earth in the long or short terms of things.
If you love the beauty of pottery and timeless appeal of owning something that is literally a piece of history in modern form, then pottery is certainly a great way to go. Throughout history pottery has proven to be both useful in a utilitarian sense and quite beautiful according to the artists that created various pieces. Whether you are looking for purchase or create pottery for business or for pleasure be sure to keep in mind that wood firing is one of the choices that is available for the creation of many remarkable pieces of pottery.
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