Traditional firing of Santa Clara Pottery starts by using wood as the fuel to produce the immense heat required to fire the pottery. The pot is placed in a metal crate and then the crate is surrounded by wood. As the smoke from the buring wood covers the surface of the pottery it starts to create a film covering. The temperature of the pot increases to the point where the film is burnt off. If the pottery is ment to be red, it would be removed from the fire at this point and set aside to cool. The temperature within the pottery is so intense that the inside of the pot becomes a glowing bright red or maroon in color. Black pottery is most widely thought of when talking about Santa Clara Pottery. Once the smoke film has burnt off the pottery the wood is covered with horse manure to produced the black finish. During the removal of the manure the smoke can have the effect of a dense cloud as it escapes from within. In this cloud at times are red-orange flames that look as if they are holding the pottery you must reach for. The quality of polishing and imperfections with the pottery are determined during firing. With such an intense heat, the firing process will cause any minute crack or pocket of air to show as a defect on the surface of the pot. Clay coils that were not completely merged together will cause the pot to completly separate. Major air pockets have caused pottery to explode during firing. This traditional way of firing Pottery reveals beauty made by the Earth, our Hands and Fire. |