Sawdust-fired Lidded Vessel with ‘Fern Shadow', Straight Lid

Firing Process - Judy Blake

My work is burnished (smoothed), at the leather hard stage with a river stone which gives the surfaces of the pieces, a beautiful silky glow that seems to come from within the pieces. They are then allowed to dry completely and several layers of fine liquid clay called Terra Sigillata are applied and polished after each coat. The pieces are then bisque fired to approximately 1000 degrees Centigrade and are ready for the final firing which involves one of four smoke-firing processes.

This one is called the Sawdust-firing process. The pieces are placed in a metal or brick container, surrounded with various types of sawdusts and allowed to smolder for several hours. The polished, unglazed surfaces become marked by the swirling pattern of smoke and flame, imparting a soft earthiness and sensuality to the work which have been fired in this way. Some of the pieces have been imprinted with a delicate leaf or fern ‘shadow’, using a special carbonization technique.