Category Archives: Pit Firing

Anatomy of a Pit Firing, June 20th

A beautiful day for a pit firing. Thank you, Barbara, for sharing your love and talent. You have a beautiful way of teaching and making your followers continue to grow and thirst for more.

Notes from the June 20th Pit Firing

  1. Create a pit in a safe place. Make sure there is a way to let air in and then close air off. (See Building the Pit video). Remove about 6 lower bricks to keep air circulating in the pit.
  2. Prepare the bisque pots. Place pot on newspaper and then add coffee grounds, banana peels, leaves, other organic material, washes of mason stains or oxides, stainless steel and copper scrubbies, baking soda, copper sulfate from the gardening store etc. or WHATEVER! Wrap in newspaper.
  3. Remember to take notes about what you are putting on each pot. A photo journal is helpful – before and after pictures to show the effect of your treatments. Learning from what you try is important.
  4. Layer about 2 inches of saw dust in the bottom of the pit.
  5. Load pots by nesting gently in sawdust.
  6. Add magic powder (About 1/3 copper carbonate and 2/3 salt) by sprinkling all around sawdust.
  7. Blend magic powder into sawdust.
  8. Add another inch of sawdust.
  9. Add more magic powder.
  10. More sawdust.
  11. More magic powder.
  12. More sawdust.
  13. Cover with crumpled newspaper, hair, and a lot of baking soda.
  14. Add kindling.
  15. Start fire. Keep adding kindling and then larger wood GENTLY so as not to damage the pots.
  16. Use tongs to help layer logs gently and safely.
  17. Keep the fire roaring for about 3 hours
  18. Let die down to smoldering and you begin to see the pots.
  19. Add 3-4 inches of manure and cover everything.
  20. Cover with tin and put the bricks back in.
  21. Cool overnight and uncover pots the next day.
  22. Wash pots.
  23. Let the pots dry thoroughly and wax , use Pledge Future floor polish, or the color enhancer/sealer of your choice.

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