How To Pit Fire Greenware Pottery (Without Breaking Any)
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- Опубліковано 27 лип 2024
- I have a few pots I need to fire so in this video I go out into the country to fire them in a traditional pit fire. This video will show you the tricks to firing greenware pottery in a pit without breaking anything.
#pitfire
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0:00 Tools and Materials For Firing
2:07 Digging The Pit, Getting Ready
3:30 Primary Fire
4:55 Secondary Fire
7:05 Cool Down And Kiln Opening
9:16 Finished Pots, The Big Reveal
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This turned out to be a great day for firing pottery and the weather was perfect. There are a number of other ways to fire pottery primitively, if you want to learn more about other types of firings check out my "Outdoor Pottery Firing" playlist here ua-cam.com/play/PLxjk09ZJzrlsyEo-ickFHnMDwQBT1HP5b.html
Are your "cover sherds" made of pit fired pottery ? What can I use if I don't have any ? Or should I make some as step 1 ?
@@gabrieldunn7384 You can use flower pots or metal buckets. This video might help you ua-cam.com/video/80_kFeUMeuI/v-deo.html
You need your own PBS show. You're the Bob Ross of pottery. I'm impressed with your presentation. 💯
Great video! I used this method to fire the clay tablets sent by my customers complaining of "inferior copper"
Took me a moment, anthropology joke?
You're a great mentor and teacher. Pottery is like music, they're both ancient and ingrained, a lot easier and less complicated when they're approached with the tools at hand. Thank you.
So true. Thank you.
So fabulous! I can’t wait to try this with my students this winter. I’m the Art teacher and also the Forest School teacher in a small primary school (elementary school) in the mountains in Australia. We have clay occurring naturally in our area so I’m going all-in and using found clay with imported sand and trying our own firing in a fire pit. Your video was so helpful. I’m trying to work out how to pay the monthly sponsorship but struggling to work that out. Will do though. THANKS! 😊👏🏻
Stunning results!
Your pitfire was much more successful than ours. I think this is due to the height of your pit. We dug ours very deeply (18 inches). We also did the pre fire but i don't think the ground held the heat as well either. Great video!
Air circulation is very important, too deep will limit this.
Thank you Andy! Finally joining. Had to do it. Had to. Best creator I know of to support!
Thank you Granny, that's very nice of you. Welcome and now you can access a lot of members only videos you haven't seen.
Those turned our really beautiful Andy. Thanks.
Many thanks!
I’ve been binge watching your videos and will be buying some white slip from you! Thanks for all the knowledge you share, your videos have gotten me back into primitive pottery
Awesome, glad you like my videos!
Fantastic video! Thank you Andy for your presentation. You just made my life simpler. I'll do this type of firing soon.
Hey Andy,
I've just discovered your channel. Thank you. This is indispensable information for these uncertain times.
It sure is, thanks.
Beautiful!! My favs are the Tularosa jar &the Pinedale mug - they’re both gorgeous!
Thanks!
Love your videos Andy !
Thanks 👍
You always have something new to look forward to on Wednesdays. Thanks
Thanks Wes. Wednesday is my day for sure, I fell into it accidentally and now its a matter of habit.
Great channel, awesome stuff! I've thought a little about low fired pottery ever since elementary school when we did one pit fire, but never really researched it until today. I'm so excited to get back into clay through the method that initially captured my imagination.
That's cool. I hope my content can be helpful to you.
That was some beautiful pottery!
Thank you. It was a good firing.
really good video!
nice work!
thank you
Thanks. It's probably getting on towards firing time in Alberta.
@@AncientPottery LOL !!! i have a bunch to fire and we were going to go to the bush property this week but we just got 5" of snow. i hope it will dry up soon.
again keep up the great work.
thanks
Wow! My son is moving to Montana in a week or so, hoping for an end to cold weather before he gets there.
Have you ever surface fired in the southeast? One of the bigger problems is the moisture in the ground. So, you have to spend hours burning stuff to dry up the ground. Tammy Bean puts down a section of tin and then puts the dirt on top of it and then starts her fire. That dries out the soil on top in just a couple of hours as the wood burns down. When you pre heat, you have to set them on something to prevent the pots from wicking up moisture. (BTW, no rocks around near me, if you want rocks, you will need to use fire bricks.) Rake the coals out around into a circle, put your pots in the middle. build the fire up around the pots gradually, then really carefully across the top of the fire. If you break one, this is usually when you do it. With the iron rich soil in the southeast, almost everything will fire a shade of orange to red.
I have friends who make beautiful pottery like this in the southeast, some accomplished primitive potters and others who are current students of mine. I also have friends in the northeast which suffers from many of the same issues and also cold weather in the winter. Don't let these problems hold you back, the ancient potters overcame them and so can you. We often have copious rainfall here in the southwest, at a recent firing I did the ground was soaked, we built a fire the night before and kept it going most of the night so it dried out the ground before our firing. We set the unfired pots on our cover sherds to keep them from wicking up moisture from the ground. It has all been done before.
Fantastic video
Thanks
Your a great expirement on pottery material clay...thanks your ideas..
You're welcome
Real nice Andy! What was your daytime temps? How long from pot warming to removal from the fire pit? Will you be selling that white jug, it's just beautiful! Thanks as always for your fine blend of scholarly-artwork!
Thanks, the temperature was probably around 85 F. Total time firing was probably an hour and a half if you include the warming up part. Yes, the pot will be sold on my website. Glad you enjoyed it.
Been busy getting the garden ready,... hibernation over... Just got a chance to watch this video, and it is a great addition to the Andy Ward Saga! Really like the bowl. Light red lava rock makes a good pink paint, but I don't really like pink on pottery. Thanks again and I appreciate what you do, sir!
Yes get that garden ready you may be very glad you have it before this year is over. I have no place to garden where I live so if times get hard I'm coming to your place. Thanks for watching!
@@AncientPottery I was thinking if times got rough, maybe the Gila may still have some water by then. Build my own Gila cliff dwelling! Make my own Gila pottery. One mans nightmare is another mans dream! LOL! Your totally invited.
@@QuailCanyonAnthropolgy definitely. I have a friend who is living the life on the upper Gila right now
another great video
Thank you
Thanks for sharing. I'm going to have to make some primitive pinch pots out in the wild!
Thank you so much, have fun!
A thought about air flow, have you thought about using a Dakota fire hole to get more oxygen to the base of the fire?...love your channel keep on keeping on
Thank you.
You're welcome!
A perfect firing from a great master! I just did two firings myself, one oxydising, the other reducing. I got a lot of cracks on the oxydising one except on a small bowl. I thought it was mainly due to the wind after the wood burned down, but the ceramics were also very questionable. The reducing one was in a shallow pit on the sea shore, I recovered the fire with sand when it was burning at its most and covered every chimney hole which appeared spontaneously. I didn't get any significant cracks, but a lot of fire spalling - one fatal to a small cute jug. It seems that it was not enough this time to warm the pots by the first fire, perhaps due to the wind and I should have preheated them in my kitchen owen. I am still satisfied as they are totally black and really shiny as I wanted, surprisingly like those of Maria Martinez actually! and like most of those I am imitating from Iron Age Europe. I wonder if this was not just a question of getting dark tones but covering them by sand may also protect them from the cold wind once the fire is down.
That's great. You might try adding more temper to your clay to prevent the breakage. What you are calling reduction is really more smudging.
At the point you're removing the ashes and fired pots, you are using your shovel. If you use a Raku tong, it would be easier and "safer" to pick up the pieces.... just a thought... cool video, (just like the indians used to do..
I've been a potter for over 50 years and have done this many times with my students.
That's great. So many potters today think it needs to be bisqued first.
Now I have to “ like” your videos before I even watch them, so at the end when you suggest a video for more info I can click on it quick! No problem....like, like Like! Awesome videos! Thankyou!
You're the best!
Those look beautiful
I want to try making pots on my local Occoneechee lands. Their home island is gone, washed away by the formation of the Kerr Reservoir. But the park that overlooks the buried island is probably where pots had been fired for hundreds of years.
It will be a sight to see.
Loved the video! Beautiful ware. Do you think you'll be doing anymore videos with your backyard kiln?
Thanks. I definitely will, maybe I can get one out in May.
I love your videos! I have been binge watching the last few days since finding your channel!
I had a question. I do not have cover shreds, is there something else I can find that will work instead? Something that is cheap and easy to obtain until I am able to compile some cover shreds of my own?
Yes, bits of metal work fine. Have you seen this video? ua-cam.com/video/80_kFeUMeuI/v-deo.html
Very interesting video, thank you for sharing. I would love to know more about the paints you use on the pots and bowls etc
Thanks, I have made several videos about the natural paints I use, here is a playlist of some of those videos ua-cam.com/play/PLxjk09ZJzrlvtM-FCcmX97pOJHP2zxAXy.html
@@AncientPottery thanks for this, I’ll check them out now. I’ve just ordered some red clay (you wouldn’t believe how hard it is to just order low heat clay here in the U.K., most is this air dry rubbish).
Love your videos . Will be subscribing to help you out & keep making these . One question I have when you creat your pottery how long can you keep the piece before you fire it ?
Thank you. As long as you keep it dry you can wait indefinitely before you fire it. I have had pots that waited for years between making and firing.
Those are gorgeous 😍 really great info too! Isn't there a risk of them cracking when removing them too fast?
That is really impressive, Thanks :-D. Somehow I really dont think I could pack that light. I'll take some photos to share when I go on my first outback firing and see how it compares to you. I was really wondering how you carried your pots safely, so that was helpful too. Thanks again.
Glad you got something out of it. You really don't need much, other things I didn't include that are important are food, ice cold drinks, a shady hat and long sleeve shirt to keep from getting sun burnt. A folding chair is nice too.
Lucky you said about that. I always have a hat and long shirt, but I probably would have forgotten the food, drinks and chair!
Good Morning Andy! I liked this a lot! Full of information. Could I use any low fire red clay?Any suggestions?
Sure you could, I would select a clay that had some grog in it, or add grog to your clay. Did you see y video where I tested commercial clays in a firing like this, that might help answer this question ua-cam.com/video/n1zwTqlu4GI/v-deo.html
Great job. Loved this movie. How/ with what, did you decorate the pieces?
I'm sure you have another vid covering that, but I can't find it! Again, great clip and fascinating channel... thank you for all your hard work.
The white, yellow and green background colors were all different clay slips I have collected and processed. The white paint is also clay slip, here is a video about making clay slip.
ua-cam.com/video/FGj-hyKZ8eM/v-deo.html
The black paint is a mixture of manganese dioxide, copper carbonate and clay, you can collect your own and process by hand as I do or buy online. Here is a video about making mineral paint.
ua-cam.com/video/Dqp8ePhg7Wk/v-deo.html
@@AncientPottery Thanks so much Andy. I also watched the Tony Soares clip (and another doco type thing about him via another channel). What an amazing artist and what skills!
Love your channel, thanks for taking the time to get back to me. Take care.
Hello! Thanks for this video! I would like to try this out. Can you recommend a thermometer that you like?
Here is what I use amzn.to/3ldxsGL
I'm going to try this tomorrow night
How'd it go?
@@MarieB113 it went great, I went from greenware to bisque, but I got minimal colors. I did throw some table salt on towards the end and used a bit of charcoal. It gave me some beautiful dark blue on a small bowl I made.
Very nice work what's the best setting for the heat gun you have I have 1 almost Like it I don't know how to get to work Right
Hmm, not sure I had to fiddle with the settings when I got it. I set it to celsius but I think I am using it just the way it came out of the box besides that.
Thanks! I couldn’t find the “Join” button, but want to help support your fabulous channel. Tell me how to join please!
It’s just below the video near the subscribe button. If you don’t see it try a different device. I think on sone phones and things it doesn’t appear.
how long do you let the pots dry before doing the primary fire? a few days? and then how long do you pre-heat them with the primary fire? a few hours? thanks Andy love your videos
Hi Andy. Hoping to organise a pit-firing the summer for a group of us at pottery class. Must the pots be earthenware, or can stoneware also be used ? Wondering if the fire can reach the required temperature for stoneware. Many thanks for all your great videos !!
I don't know much about commercial clays. I think most clays can be made to work as earthenware but I can't make any promises. Maybe check out this video where I tried out a few popular commercial clays in this way ua-cam.com/video/n1zwTqlu4GI/v-deo.html
Is it possible to shallow bury a small metal tube to introduce oxygen to the center? Or is that a bad idea?
Yes, that might make a big difference.
Do you have a video on the paint you use on these?
Yes, here is a whole playlist on my paints ua-cam.com/play/PLxjk09ZJzrlvtM-FCcmX97pOJHP2zxAXy.html
epic
I fired my first clay! Just little solid shapes. Turned kind of a dark red. I'm not sure if I fired it right though as some of it can be rubbed off with my fingers, otherwise it was really awesome!
Great start!
Hi Andy.
This is Enrique, from Spain. I love your videos, I should imagine you are also familiar with the prehistoric pre-kiln pottery from Europe.
Anyway, I wanted to ask: do you think that too much heat could also crack the pots? I have had two or three successful firings (I use my huge BBQ bowl as a container, but the method is pretty much the same as yours), but the last one was a total failure. It all cracked. I was trying to achieve a super high temperature, covering the fire with the lid, and fanning it all the time in order to get a good oxygen flow. In fact, the fire was yellow, so I might have achieved a 1000°C, perhaps. So, that's my question, could too much heat crack the pots, (taking for granted that I went through the pre-heating correctly)?.
Thank you so much.
Yes, more temper in your clay will protect against thermal shock cracks which is most likely what happened to you. Have you seen this video? ua-cam.com/video/9KYaJyML7u8/v-deo.html
Hey Andy, quick question: do you know if commercially purchased clay, that I have already bisque and glaze fired in a ceramics studio, would bond with smectite slip and organic paint on the unglazed surface should I use the salado firing method?
Thanks!
If unknown, I will be experimenting to find out!
I have never tried that. If you do it, let me know how it works out.
Here in NY, we have a lot of creeks and rivers, and putting stones in a fire is generally discouraged because they can explode with a lot more force than a damp greenware pot. Just to be safe I'd probably bring my own spacers or sherds to put under the pottery.
We get rain and moisture here in Arizona too, from July to September we have what is called our monsoon season where it rains almost every day. If things are wet I pre-heat the stones just like I do the pottery, it drives off the moisture and makes them safe.
Hi! When I build a campfire I build a channel through the pit to get wind, and therefore O2, flowing through the fire to make the fire hotter. Can you do this with pit firing?
I hope you have plenty of water available and do this on calm still day. Please be fire wise. I used to pit fire in my gravel back yard.
Please don't give free advice, I am an adult. Also I spent 10 years working as a US Forest Service firefighter and know a thing or two about fire safety.
Step one: be an expert pot maker, Step two: don't break any pots.
In a nutshell, yes!
Thanks Andy for the helpful video 👍
Wanted to ask for how long do you fire with flames on average?
Thanks! This fire was maybe 45 minutes to an hour total, that is rather on the long side for me, many of my fires are around 15 minutes. It just depends on what kind of pottery I am trying to make and what max temperature I am trying to reach.
Wow, 15 min firing too! That's great talent Andy 👍
I'm trying to pitfire stoneware for selling in my upcoming design shop but I'm not successful at it yet. Your videos are really helpful to me. I'm just stuck at unsuccessful firing. I'd love to hear your advice.
cool that brad pitt has been kinda branching out in the roles he takes lately
What might work instead of cover sherds if one didn't have any? Are they primarily for providing cover, in which case anything sturdy and heat proof would do, or is there something about them being ceramic that helps with the heating or something?
The cover sherds provide some protection against the harsh gradient heat, prevent some thermal shock from that but mostly they keep the fuel from coming in contact with the pottery where it will make black marks. Metal works good, an old wash tub or bucket can work, check out how I used a tub in this video ua-cam.com/video/sAERJi3XRoY/v-deo.html
@@AncientPottery Excellent, I was hoping there'd be an easy workaround before I get to the point of having sherds laying around. The thermal benefits would be nice, but in the mean time I have plenty of roof metal scraps. Will def check out the video link, thank you!
👍
Question: can I paint and fire a commercial terracotta pots with this method?
Are these all food safe? And are you able to put them in a dishwasher or microwave?
How do you decide when to pit fire and when to fire on the flat ground?
To tell you the truth I have not found much advantage to pit firing. I can get the fire as hot on the surface with the same amount of fuel. Generally I use a pit fire sometimes if I am firing a large amount of pottery as it can help me to use less fuel to cover it all, or when I am going to smother the pot to reduce the paint. For the fire on this video I only fired this way so I could discuss pit firing with my audience.
Awesome! Not sure if you covered this, but can you drink out of these?
beautiful...
how long does your fire burn only two fires worth?
Yes, the actual firing of the pottery is pretty fast, maybe 20 or 30 minutes
How did the natives determine the temperature?
Maybe if the pit is wider? There would be more air? And still protected?
Question 1; at 04:01 You state that moisture is the leading cause of breakage. That being said, does it work to allow the pottery to sun dry for a while, BEFORE firing?
Probably this depends on the weather where you live. Here is Tucson in the summer, sure, that should pre-heat the pottery just fine. But because we are trying to get all the moisture out of the clay, I would be careful to get that pot heated up to around 200 F just to be sure you don't have any breakage.
I have a glass kiln that won't go hot enough for high fire clay. At what temp would I fire and how long to hold temp to fire primitive earthenware clay pottery?
Most clays can become earthenware at around 750 C. But it does depend on the clay. My firings are very short, maybe 15 or 20 minutes.
Can you tell me where I can buy the yellow clay for slip?
I don't buy any of my materials. This yellow slip is collected from near the Mogollon Rim in central Arizona.
what are the temps needed and then for how long?
It depends on the clay but for this firing I probably got close to 800 C and it was less than an hour.
I have ridiculous idea 🤣
Can we fire pottery by using blow torch or torches
And adjust flame to not get too high temp
Hmm, maybe. I have never tried such a thing, but I did used to work as a welder so have some experience with acetylene torches.
Hi! What did you put on the pots, out of curiosity?
And also what are you using for the cover sherds?
a leaf rake would be good for clearing that straw, perhaps into the fire pit.
yes it would, the shovel was obviously not the best tool for the job
What temperature gun do you use?
I bought a gun that goes up to temperatures over 1000 C. Some of them don't go that high.
What kind of clay did you use for the making the pots?
How long does the firing goes for?
Are these functional pots?
Natural clay, around a half hour or so, yes
I've used a deep pit and all you have to do is to dig a little side tunnel you can put bricks on the trench and then cover with dirt to have an air funnel.
Yes, that methods works great, thanks
Andy I have been testing mineral paints on raw local clays at about 800 c is this temperature normal for a fire like yours? Or too hot. I have been testing in a controlled environment reduction and oxidation . I want to do my test fires in what may have been a primitive firing range. Thanks for any feed back!
Yes, that is a reasonable temperature for a mesquite fire. Hey I'm firing up in Cliff on 4th of July weekend, you should come up.
@@AncientPottery IM IN !! And thanks for the invite !
@@AncientPottery I really want to go Andy to the Cliff event. Please let me know details on cost or things to bring. Email me if you get the chance with details .
I found some clay a few years ago I fired in a kiln but for some reason it just isn't working for me in a pit. No cracking or blowing up it just doesn't turn solid even if I burn it for a long time. Are there any other reasons that may be happening? I've never successfully fired natural clay in a pit fire but it does work in a kiln
If it is not getting hard then you are not getting hot enough
Just an idea. You talk about airspace. Is it ideal to put a metal cage top of them? (a metal cage similar on the video)
I haven't tried that but it might work good, give it a try
@@AncientPottery I ask because emotionally, I feel like those pots are going to break when those woods falls on them. To see it makes me nervous really :D
@@TeomanasAbramovas you could put the pots under a metal tub like I did in this video. 3 Tips For PIT FIRING POTTERY, Demonstration Pot Firing at Steam Pump Ranch
ua-cam.com/video/sAERJi3XRoY/v-deo.html
I have an allotment right next to my house so I preheat a pot in my oven at like 250’c then go straight out and put it on some stones in a little hole then start the fire. I don’t have a prefire… is that bad?
No, as long as the pots are heated before hand to drive off any remaining water.
I fired pottery in my garden in the surface and my pot are stacked to each other and the space betwen came out not that colorful than wer theres nothing stacked.
What can i du about it?
(It came out good)
Re-fire it and leave lots of room for air circulation. You will get it
Is there a reason for removing the pots while still hot? Can you leave the pit until everything is cool enough to handle, or does that cause some problem?
No, if it is convenient for you, leave them until they are cool enough to touch. For me however, I am a busy man and have other things to do than to sit around all day waiting for pots to cool.
@@AncientPottery Thanks for the response 👍
does colored pottery still colored in a very hot firing, like orange hot
Depends on the colorant and depends on the temperature. I don't fire over about 1000 C so can't say much over that temperature.
I useually stack too much wood so i try reducing them because i made colored pots before but they came out all red (2nd account)
How long if the firing process
Less than an hour.
@@AncientPottery no way!
@@TheoPhilpot Way!
Sir,why red soil turns into black colour when firing the pot.
I don't think I had any red clay turn black in this firing did I? Sometimes iron can turn black at high temperatures with not enough oxygen available though.
@@AncientPottery sir l use red soil and while firing it the colour has been turn into black colour.I am trying to learn from you.
Wow, those colors really were vivid. I'm wondering if the dead wood around here will give me the heat I need. We have maple and ash which I think burn fairly hot. I don't recall seeing hickory on the property but there might be some oak. Anyway, it's still chilly but I am hoping the snow of last week will be our last and I can get out and have some fun. :-D
I guess you will need to experiment to see what wood in your area works best. Of the specials you mentioned the only one I have tried is oak which works good but burns very slow. Our oaks are live oaks so may be a bit different from your oaks.
they sell tongs at any store
Sure tongs work great
How did native Americans figure out temperature without gadgets?
Lots and lots of practice. The gadget does shorten the learning curve though
What are sherds?
Would a broken toilet bowl work as a shield?
Maybe but it won’t hold up in the firing and will likely break into many pieces
@@AncientPottery guess I'll just use it as a flower pot
🩷
i vote for pit but not flat surfaces 😂😂😂
(人*´∀｀)｡*ﾟ+
What does this mean?
@@AncientPottery haha I believe it is a text emoji face? They're showing their appreciation
@@tylercarey2337 you are right
Where in Arizona can you find any land either public or private that you can have an open fire? I can't find anywhere you can even have a campfire.
Almost anywhere. Most of Arizona is public land, campfires are allowed on National Forest, BLM and State land most of the year with the exceptions of fire restrictions in the summer. Just call your local Forest Service or BLM office to ask. On private land too with permission of the land owner of course.