A Homemade Low-Fire Wood Kiln
The wood kiln shown above (left) is based on one built by my self, fellow students, and Profesora Victoria Morando—a ceramic artist from Argentina. (above, right)—during a two week workshop in Tapalpa, Mexico at La Escuela Nacional de Ceramica last summer.
My friend back home in Tucson saw photos of the kiln we were building in Mexico and said she wanted us to build one someday. A year later we finally built one in the backyard of another friend, with her help. Profesora Morando generously offered long distance guidance and suggestions during the design and construction of the kiln.
It is constructed with reused bricks and rebar. The mortar is made using local clay, manure, aloe water, sand, and straw. A majority of our materials were locally harvested/scavenged or donated to us. The upper part of the kiln will be built up using loose bricks without mortar prior to firing and then removed after firing to unload the kiln. The bottom part of the kiln is fixed in place.
We’re waiting until the end of September before firing it for the first time, when the height of intense summer heat subsides a bit. The heat from the flames will fire the clay in the mortar, helping insulate the kiln and making it more durable.
This will be an adventure with lots of trial and error. I don’t have much experience firing a wood kiln and there’s so much to learn, so many factors to consider when using this firing method. I have notes from the Tapalpa workshop that will get us started. This first firing will provide lots of information pertaining to this particular kiln, such as its peak firing temperature, how long to stoke the fire, what signs to look for to determine when the firing is complete, how much wood we’ll need, etc. The first batch of pottery will include test pieces to hopefully determine which local clays are compatible with the firing temperature.
Because it is a low fire kiln, we will be using local low fire clays to make pieces. If all goes well there may be a sprinkling of simple wood fired pieces made in this sweet little kiln in future shop updates…
Wish us luck!
Kristie, me, and Racheal after a long, sweaty morning working on the kiln.