Ceramic Firing In A Campfire

Pit firing is the original method for baking clay.

Ceramic firing in a campfire.

It dates back nearly 30 000 years ago. This is far hotter than a household oven will reach but a well built campfire can get that hot if you have a place where you can safely and legally build a fire. A first firing of this creates bisque or biscuit ware. This process is done typically in a hole in the ground or a pit pots are placed in the pit and burned.

When you first make a model it is called greenware. Smoke firing in a dustbin this is the method we tried. As a ceramic major in school i was looking for ways to fire pieces at home and finally decided to try doing a fire pit firing the piece. It works as a kiln using a hole in the ground as insulation and fuel to reach temperatures around 2000 degrees farenheit.

Although individual clays vary in their maturation temperature most clays will become earthenware ceramics at around 700 celsius or about 1300 fahrenheit. Initially you need to set a campfire that has glowing red heat. Pit fire clay a traditional method of firing pots in a pit. When there is no equipment to measure such burning temperature here is the simple trick to know.

Things to know all of the above methods require low firing clay school pottery clay is fine. This is the first firing i have ever tried to do at home. A pit fire is the oldest known method of firing your pottery dating back to 29 000 bc. Understand why clay needs firing.