Pit Firing

Pit firing is a technique where ceramics are placed in a pit with a fire built on top. The smoke infiltrates the porous ceramics trap the carbon leaving unique and unpredictable designs on the pottery. The pit featured here was built above ground with red bricks.

Ahead of putting the ceramic pieces in the pit, they are decorated with various organic matter such as dried corn husks and banana peels, as well as steel wool and copper wire. The pit is filled with several materials such as sawdust, coffee grounds, salt, newspaper, and wood. The combustibles and different additives create some subtle colour variation and designs on the pottery.

After the pit is lit and the flames have evened out across the top, a lid is placed on top to trap the smoke. Once the flames die down and only embers are left, the lid is tightly secured to keep as much smoke in as possible overnight. The pottery is ready to be unloaded the following day once it has cooled down to the touch.