First, what is smoke-fired pottery?
Smoke-fired pottery captures the drama of its making process with unpredictable but exciting results. The base colour comes from the clay the piece is made from while the darker colours come from the smoke of the fire entering the clay as it is fired.
Often smoke-fired pots have a smooth, almost ivory-like, surface and a subtle sheen. The cool smoothness of the surface is created during the making process (or more accurately) the drying process. The potter must repeatedly burnish the clay to push any gritty clay particles beneath the surface and compact and smooth the finer clay particles into a glossy surface.
Once the pots are completely dry they are fired in an electric kiln to turn the brittle clay into hard ceramic. Only then can the smoke-firing take place. Various ‘combustables’ can be used to create the fire and each has its own characteristics from wood or sawdust to paper, straw or hay.
Here is a firing sequence Karen George recorded when firing some of her bowls:
After firing, the pots need a good clean before getting a few coats of wax polish to enhance the colours and add to the shine.
How to look after it
We have looked at how smoke-fired pottery is made, now lets look at three tips for keeping your purchase looking its best. Because the clay is fired at a relatively low temperature (around 1000C), it remains porous (not waterproof). So tip 1: don’t fill it with water because although the pot will be fine, the water will gradually soak through the clay and potentially leave a watermark on wooden surfaces. For smoke-fired vases, why not try dried flowers, willow or wire art?
The decoration comes from the smoke penetrating the porous clay surface but strong sunlight can cause this colour to fade over time. So tip 2: keep out of strong or direct sunlight – sunny window-sills are best avoided.
That subtle lustrous sheen comes from all that careful burnishing but also from the wax finish. If the sheen goes off a bit then ordinary dusting and a simple buff with a soft clean cloth should do the job. If you feel it needs more then you could try re-waxing it. We use Cambridge Traditional Products Beeswax Furniture Polish which is a mixture of beeswax and natural turpentine. Any clear polish will probably work but may give a slightly different colour response so to be sure you could check with the maker to see what they used. So tip 3: give it a dust and maybe an occasional buff and some fresh wax if you feel it needs it.
Remember these simple tips and you should be enjoying your smoke-fired pots for decades to come.
Where can I buy your smoke-fired pottery?
Ian George and Karen George are potters based in Cottenham near Cambridge. We make a range of smoke-fired and other ceramics. Our work is available for sale in various galleries, exhibitions, direct from the studio and on-line. [Read more…]
We also offer pottery lessons from our studio. If you are interested and would like more information please read more here.