Glazing And Sawdust Firing

[Trude]

Having been retired for six months now, I am getting back to my pottery. Many years ago I made some smoke fired pots with a glaze only on the inside. I can't recall which I did first. Would I bisque fire, glaze fire and then smoke fire? If only I had kept better kiln firing records I wouldn't need to ask.

[Isculpt]

Having been retired for six months now, I am getting back to my pottery. Many years ago I made some smoke fired pots with a glaze only on the inside. I can't recall which I did first. Would I bisque fire, glaze fire and then smoke fire? If only I had kept better kiln firing records I wouldn't need to ask.

 

 

 

If you smoke-fire, and then fire again to a higher temperature, you will burn off the effects of the smoke-fire, a trick that comes in handy if you don't like the way a pot smoke-fired, but disastrous if you were happy with the effects. Typically, you only bisque fire to a low temperature before smoke-firing, something like 018-012. This is the advice that has been given to me by professional potters who finish their pots exclusively with smoke-firings, and I have found it to be accurate. Prior to receiving that advice, I bisqued my pots to 06, and found that the higher temperature only slightly inhibited the richness of the smoke patterning.

[Marcia Selsor]

I would add to the above post which I agree with, but that I fire saggar pots with a terra sig buffed surface. I bisque no higher than 08 in order not to dull the surface. I don't use a glaze. I consider these pieces to be more for aesthetics purposes rather than functional.

Marcia

[Trude]

I would add to the above post which I agree with, but that I fire saggar pots with a terra sig buffed surface. I bisque no higher than 08 in order not to dull the surface. I don't use a glaze. I consider these pieces to be more for aesthetics purposes rather than functional.

Marcia

 

 

 

Thank you both for your imput. It was very helpful in figuring out what process I must have used. It makes sense now, that I must have glazed them before the smoke fire. Making them functional was my main reason for glazing the inside only. But what surprises me is that the smoke fire still effected the unglazed surface on the outside, even after being fired to cone 6. But it did and I even got some red patterns on them from the smoke firing.