Pottery Oven

A simple system of firing in which pots are set in sawdust within a brick or metal box with lid. The sawdust is ignited and burns more slowly achieving sufficient heat to turn the clay into pottery. Pockets of oxidation and reduction are caused which produce interesting decoration, especially on burnished red clays.

NOTE: Don’t forget to leave gaps in oven construction to allow for oxygen.

From The Potter’s Dictionary of Materials and Techniques, by Frank and Janet Hamer, 1991, ISBN 0-7136-3337-9, published by
University of Pennsylvania Press,
418 Service Drive,
Philadelphia, PA 19104

or

A Black Limited,
35 Bedford Row,
London WC1R 4JH.