Smoke and Pit Firing by Katie Jacobs 2024.pdf

Presentation on Artist Katie Jacobs and the process of Pit or Smoke Firing ceramics, ideas on how to do, what processes in what order 2023.

1. SMOKE FIRING
AT CASTLEMAINE CLAY
WITH KATIE JACOBS

2. Katie Jacobs has been staring into fires since her
childhood. She loves a good smoke firing, equal parts
witchy, wicked and experimental, and for her exhibition
“Vessels for my Homeless Rage”, fired her work in
various pits and barrels. Her choice of this method was
fascinating as she was in a moon boot at the time (due
to returning to sport after years of inactivity). Katie is
excited to share her recent experiences and ideas about
making, decorating surfaces and adding various inputs
to the firing so you can be part of the immense fun of
this exciting process!”
ABOUT KATIE

3. I was interested in throwing bigger forms for an
exhibition, as my wheel skills had stagnated somewhat
(I consider myself largely a handbuilder), so I took an
excellent workshop wth Minna Graham in Daylesford.
Around March 2023 I tore my achilles, returning to sport
after years of inactivity. I had already made some of my
work at this time, luckily. I had to have 2 months off
work as a teacher at Malmsbury Youth Justice. This left
a lot of time at home (after Covid, I was not excited
about this), and a lot of time for my 3 year old to hit me
when I enacted any dissent to his headstrong opinion. I
was vulnerable, on crutches and unable to run away.
MAKING THE VESSELS

4. So I had a lot of vessels to fire. All I knew is that I
wanted them to be fairly monochrome, as the forms
were reasonably complex (compared to a lot of wheel
thrown objects).
I did a bit of research (tried painting a few Vantablack,
testing with black shoe polish), but I really thought
about wanting monochrome black and white textures,
with maybe a bit of pink. This is where the pit-firing idea
came in. As part of getting some trees cleared, we had a
digger come and remove the trunks and flatten a
space...I got him to dig an extra hole in the middle of the
space for a pit.
PLANNING THE FIRINGS

5. WHAT IS SMOKE
FIRING?
Smoke firing is the oldest method of firing clay into ceramic,
and dates from 25,000 BCE. Unfired dried clay wares are
placed into a pit or kiln, covered with combustibles and
attain temperatures of up to 1000 degrees, qualified as
earthenware pottery.
As an example, traditional blackware pottery from Pueblo is
fired using this method, and it is used in many cultures
today to create interesting effects and styles. Blackware is
created in a reduction atmosphere smothered by
combustibles to get a completely black effect from the
smoke.
Ellison Bay Pottery
Pueblo black ware

6. I had never done a pit firing before. I hunted about on
the internet for ideas for what chemicals to throw in.
One very useful resource was”Up in Smoke Pottery”. I
also found Anne-Marie Wallace’s site helpful about ideas
for adding combustibles to the fire.
I collected lots of things (including banana peels dried in
the oven, coffee grounds, eucalyptus dust, salt, steel
wool, copper wire, and wrote lists of what else I could
source). Some chemicals were also used.
I made a few different solutions to coat the work with,
including copper sulfate and iron chelate).
ADDING COMBUSTIBLES

7. I loaded up the pit with vermiculite and sawdust for the
bottom layer...then added my pots and built up the
sawdust and vermiculite around them a little. I scattered
some things like salt and iron oxide about the sawdust
as I layered a few pots in, I tried the smaller ones first
before I put the big ones into the second firing).
Thank goodness for that moon boot, as doing this on
crutches would have been ridiculous.
My partner and I lit the fire, invited some mates over
and watched it go for a few hours before covering it up
with that corrugated iron you see in the background.
THE FIRINGS

8. When it had cooled the next afternoon, I uncovered the
work, and found that I loved the black where the smoke
and sawdust and vermiculite had created pure black
areas on the pots. It was pretty hard to tell what other
combustibles gave the results they did, even though I
took notes, but was able to get the pink blushes from
copper added in the sawdust.
This work ended up looking quite visceral, and not a
little violent...which was fitting with a show about
bodies, emotions and fire.
I also washed, and then polished these with shoe polish
(as a wax), scrubbing it on with a rough brush.
THE FIRINGS

9. The exhibition “Vessels for my Homeless Rage” expressed my troubled relationship with the expectations of
motherhood via ceramic forms.
Combining the traditional ceramic form and technique of the Korean moon jar with the sculptural, Jacobs stamps and
impresses, marks and distresses large rounded vessels. Using her child’s play objects, she distorts these forms. By
altering the perfection of the circle, she ruptures the tasteful associations with “femininity” seen in pottery vessel-
making traditions.
Jacobs’ daily experience as a parent constantly picking up cars and trucks, animals and beasts, balls and bats has
led her to experiment with impressing them into the malleable wet clay. Literally distorting the shape of the vessel, as
a stand in for the nurturing “feminine” body, Jacobs aims to express the disconnect between the implicit
expectations of nurturing motherhood in opposition to overwhelming and messy emotions experienced as part of the
occupation of parenting. “Our society is infinitely creative in finding ways to dismiss and pathologize women’s rage.
Women frequently internalize these social norms, seeing our anger as incompatible with a primary designated role as
caretaker.”[1]
[1] Chemaly, Soraya L. 2018. Rage Becomes Her : The Power of Women's Anger.
ARTIST STATEMENT FOR VESSELS FOR MY
HOMELESS RAGE

10. IMAGES FROM “VESSELS FOR MY HOMELESS RAGE”

11. IMAGES FROM “VESSELS FOR MY HOMELESS RAGE”

12. IMAGES FROM “VESSELS FOR MY HOMELESS RAGE”

13. The second firing I made a mistake, coating the work
with a wet solution, and then fired too quickly
afterwards, resulting in a lot of the large works cracking.
Such is ceramics.
The pieces in the middle were made with my moon boot
and my shoes, using them to “kick” and mark the vessel.
The other one was altered with sports items, as that is
how my injury occurred (playing soccer with spikes I
was not used to, doing running I was not used to and
using muscles I was not used to!)
THINGS I LEARNED

14. Making the Vessels01
Pinch Forming, Kurinuki and Wheel : Things to
consider02
Applying Terra Sigillata to the surface,
Burnishing03
Bisque firing and collecting combustibles04
LIST OF PROCESSES
Packing the Pit/Kiln05
Setting the Fire : throwing into the fire?06
Unpacking the Kiln when cool, cleaning07
Finishing: Polishing the work using wax, shining,
or silicone treatment to allow for resistance to
water08

15. Smoke firing can be hard on your work. The rapid
changes in temperature (compared to an elecric kiln)
and uneven exposure to the fire can open up hairline
cracks, and the weight of the wood can put pressure on
any weaknesses in the making process.
For this reason, I suggest trying to keep to the same
technique within a piece (as in, when pinching a pot,
also add a pinched handle, or if wheel-throwing try
altering the work while wet/plastic, or adding something
wheelthrown, rather than adding objects like handles
made at a later stage).
01: MAKING THE
VESSELS

16. As this firing technique can be less controlled than electric kiln
firing, and requires robust work, consider the following:
Aim for 1cm thick and keep to a reasonable size (say 15 X 15
X 15cm might be reasonable for the group smoke firing and a
few smaller vessels).
Make sure joins (if needed) are secure and “slip and score” +
push and wiggle” techniques are used for any joins. Joins will
generally be “weaker” than no joins.
Consider pinching any solid sculptural forms (animals,
talismans) and adding carving, or trying the solid carving
technique of kurinuki to add texture or interest to a simple
form like a candle-holder or chunky cup.
02: PINCH FORMING,
KURINUKI AND WHEEL :
THINGS TO CONSIDER

17. I made a traditional terra sigillata, by adding a defloculant to dry
clay and some water, this is then left to settle in 3
layers...groggy stuff to discard at the bottom, good terra sigillata
in the middle and water on the top. It is all the fine particles of
the clay.
This is brushed on with a soft brush, and burnished between
layers by running a soft plastic bag oer it. (You can also use a
spoon or a piece of silk screen I believe). This gives a more shiny
“burnished” surface for the smoke and combustibles to enhance.
03: TERRA SIGILLATA
AND BURNISHING

18. THANK YOU!
ANY
QUESTIONS?

19. Trophy Work (at Corner
Store Merchants)
Work made for “Picnic” exhibition
2023, Living Art Space, Bendigo
Exhibition “Mum Voice” Corner
Store Merchants, 2021
www.katiejacobs.net