Directory of Woodfired Resources

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This category is for sites selling Woodfired pottery.

Wood firing remains a lengthy, labor intensive process. Depending on a number of factors--kiln size, desired temperature, and system of delivery--a firing may take twelve to thirty-six hours

The Japanese are famous for their wood-fired pottery, fired in an anagama (a single-chamber, tunnel-shaped kiln) or a noborigama (a multi-chamber kiln). The use of these wood-fired kilns has spread worldwide.

These specialized wood firings can take up to a week to complete. The fire is started with tiny pieces of wood and the kiln is stoked every five minutes. When the kiln becomes hot, large pieces of pottery are added at regular intervals. The fire is kept burning 24 hours a day for several days until the clay has matured. The kiln is left to cool for several more days—if it is opened too soon, the pots will crack and break. Because it is so labor-intensive, potters who use these kilns often fire only once a year. They save up an entire years work, perhaps hundreds of pots, for one firing.

Most wood-fired pottery doesn't have a glaze. As the fire gets hotter, drafts pull wood ash through the kiln where it is deposited on the pots. The pots are so hot from the flames (they glow red like charcoals in a barbecue) that the ash melts on the clay and creates its own glaze. The patterns produced are unpredictable.

Resources in This Category

• Bizen Pottery

  http://www.culture.co.jp/bizen/
  Functional and decorative pieces available. Information includes the history and features of Bizen pottery, and brief biographies of potters. English and Japanese.

• Great Basin Pottery

  http://www.greatbasinpottery.com/
  Produces functional handcrafted pottery that is woodfired in an anagama kiln.

• Manabigama Pottery Center

  http://manabigama.com/
  Pottery studio in Bowling Green, Ohio with an emphasis on fine wood fired stoneware finished in kilns on site. Functional pieces are food, dishwasher, and microwave safe.

• Old Farmhouse Pottery

  http://www.farmpots.com/
  Woodfired stoneware pottery by David Hendley, tour of the studio and kilns, list of past articles and publications, instructional DVDs.

• River Bend Pottery

  http://www.johnbaymore.com/
  Wood-fired stoneware by artist John Baymore in his four chamber noborigama kiln. Provides an online gallery.

• The Cornwall Bridge Pottery

  http://cbpots.zoovy.com/
  Producing wood-fired stoneware garden pots, lamps and tableware.

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