Wood Firing Workshop with Joseph Sand

Wood firing is an ancient process of firing pottery using wood as a fuel source, to introduce ash and heavy reduction environment to the fired ware. Joseph Sand built his own wood-fire kiln in 2010, and has been firing in it ever since. He has apprenticed with Mark Hewitt for three and half years. You can read more about Joseph's artistic journey here.

Co-instructed by our in-house wood-firing studio artist, Gary Little, Joseph Sand will show and guide students into loading and firing in his backyard Anagama kiln. This class will be taught two days at ¡Cerámica! , and the rest will be held at Joseph Sand's Kiln. This class is intended for potters who are experienced, are able to do hard work, such as lifting heavy wood, and can assist in maintaining wood-firing for 4~6 hours at a time. Students will be provided a bag of clay, a choice of either Phoenix or Orangestone (Highwater clays). Students are not allowed to make bowls or plates, as they take up a lot of space in the kiln, and stacking is not possible due to the salt environment. 

 You must provide your own transportation for this workshop.

Below is a schedule of the workshop:

August 12th: Initial meet up at ¡Cerámica! to learn about etiquettes and expectations.

October 14th: (Optional) Extra day to create pottery at ¡Cerámica!, pieces will be bisqued on the 28th, and ready for pick up on November 1st.

November 4th: Glazing day at Joseph Sand's space with guidance on how to use his glazes for his kiln, as well as theory behind firing his kiln.

November 10th, 11th, 12th: Loading day at Joseph Sand's kiln, learning about wadding and importance of kiln space.

November 17th 18th, 19th: Firing day at Joseph. Joseph will assign students different shifts, hence it is expected for you to be available the entire weekend.

November 25th: Unloading day. Final day of workshop.

Classes are on Saturdays, and will run from 10am to 4pm on August 12th, October 14th (optional), and November 10th. Loading, firing, and unloading days and shifts will be determined by Joseph Sand the week prior. Unloading will be annouced by Joseph Sand and we will email everyone accordingly.

Joseph Sand's email and contact information will be shared during first session.