Pit Fires

April 28, 2002
February 8, 2003

Pit Fires are a wonderful way to spend a day with a group of people who share your love of ceramics.  Everyone adds to the success of the day.  One person will bring pallets and wood to burn, another will bring the marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate.  I have access to horse hair because I have a friend with horses, so I brought that to apply to the hot pieces.  I brought wood shavings too, because I work at Petco, and we sell them in the stores for small animal bedding.

Some of the techniques that we use are spraying the pieces with copper in solution, wrap the piece with copper wire, brillo pads, sea weed, and anything else we can think of around the bisqued pieces.  We build a bonfire, with the ceramic pieces in the middle.  Then we light it and watch it burn.  There's something so great about watching the fire...  And we made s'mores too, when the fire burned down a little. I always bring Cheeto's. It's amazing how they survive a pit fire!

Then, as the fuel is used up, the pots become visible in the ashes.