What Kind of work should I bring to a group soda or wood firing?

Top 4 kinds of kiln filler to bring to every soda or wood firing.

1. Tiny Objects

Any kind of object that is tiny, and can be tucked around other pieces of pottery almost anywhere in the kiln. These can also serve as great test tiles for a new clay, glaze or slip recipe. Examples of tiny Objects: 

• Shot Glasses
• Buttons

• Little dishes
• Jewelry

2. Tall and Thin Objects

"Tall and thin always gets in." This is a wood firers mantra. The size could range from 2" to several feet tall. Must often it's helpful to have tall work under 9" unless your firing a catenary arch design kiln...then you frequently need really tall pieces to help fill around the arch. Examples of tall and thin pieces:

• Skinny Pitcher
• Bottles

• Tumblers
• Budvases

3. Pottery that mirrors each others shapes.

Look at this example of how these creamers tuck between these bowl shapes. You can intentionally make forms that are wider at the top, and wider at the bottom to fire next to each other so there are fewer gaps in the kiln load.

4. Specialty Kiln Fillers

Work to be fired on it's side.

These vessels would normally take up a lot of vertical kiln space, and could  fit on a shorter shelf by side firing them. It is extremely helpful to have sturdy vessels without fragile handles to be side fired on side stoke aisles if it is a wood soda kiln.

Non-open forms to go under the arch of a kiln.

It is helpful to have forms that are not very open underneath the arch; as older soda kilns frequently have crud fall from the archway/ceiling of kiln. If you put a big open bowl in the arch way you can count on something landing in it. To avoid having crud fall into big bowls fire a pair of bowls rim to rim instead.
​(note: these bowls would be wadded rim to rim to be loaded into the kiln.)

Feel free to email me at [email protected] to suggest other topics in soda firing that you would like to learn more about.

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