Went to Seagrove, NC for a weekend to visit friends. This is a town of about 350 people, with about 100 potteries- no exaggeration. There are places that if you swerve to miss a cat, you might hit a wood kiln in someone's FRONT yard. I have lots of pics of pots and studios, but this is a site for burnin stuff, so here are the burners.
The "Pottery Center" has 2 wood burning kilns that can be rented for about $250 each! One is a 2-chamber kiln, the other is a "groundhog". I've heard 2 legends on the name groundhog- one was because it looks like the burrow and may be partially under ground, the other is because you have to crawl around in there to load it.
2-chamber kiln, it goes uphill to promote draft.
Inside one of the 2-chambers. Notice the glassy look- this is from melted wood ash and the use of salt/soda. The sodium attacks silica, forming an orange-peel textured glaze.
Me in front of a 300+ cu ft kiln at Johnston and Gentithes. They're a husband and wife team that do GREAT work. The firebox is to the lower left of this picture. They fire in about 16 hours and add salt at the end.
Notice the charred beam from a minor fire. It happens.
Front chamber of the kiln at (I think) "Dirt Works". Shelves of pots are stacked right here in the firebox, then the fire moves through holes in that back wall into another chamber.
Ben Owen has a big 4 chamber kiln- the doors are suspended from an overhead roller system. Traditionally you build a brick wall every time you want to close the door.
My wife in front of Ben Owen's kiln
This is a pizza oven built on the kiln pad at Ben Owen's Pottery. Notice the baby "anagama" kiln on the left, complete with "side stoke" holes". This is built on the buttress for a 4-chamber kiln.
The "Pottery Center" has 2 wood burning kilns that can be rented for about $250 each! One is a 2-chamber kiln, the other is a "groundhog". I've heard 2 legends on the name groundhog- one was because it looks like the burrow and may be partially under ground, the other is because you have to crawl around in there to load it.
2-chamber kiln, it goes uphill to promote draft.
Inside one of the 2-chambers. Notice the glassy look- this is from melted wood ash and the use of salt/soda. The sodium attacks silica, forming an orange-peel textured glaze.
Me in front of a 300+ cu ft kiln at Johnston and Gentithes. They're a husband and wife team that do GREAT work. The firebox is to the lower left of this picture. They fire in about 16 hours and add salt at the end.
Notice the charred beam from a minor fire. It happens.
Front chamber of the kiln at (I think) "Dirt Works". Shelves of pots are stacked right here in the firebox, then the fire moves through holes in that back wall into another chamber.
Ben Owen has a big 4 chamber kiln- the doors are suspended from an overhead roller system. Traditionally you build a brick wall every time you want to close the door.
My wife in front of Ben Owen's kiln
This is a pizza oven built on the kiln pad at Ben Owen's Pottery. Notice the baby "anagama" kiln on the left, complete with "side stoke" holes". This is built on the buttress for a 4-chamber kiln.
