Wood Fired Pottery - Robert Compton Pottery

Robert's Wood Fired pots are fired in a Noborigama during which time, they are stoked with wood continuously for 3 days, consuming 5 cords of wood, attaining a temperature of 2400 Fahrenheit. Several hundred pots fill the chamber and are enveloped in flame and ash during the firing.

As in Salt Glaze Firing, the pots are placed on "wads", to prevent them from fusing to the kiln shelves. The wadding is an important element, as it allows the fire to flow under every pot, creating unique flash patterns. Each Wood Fired piece emerges from the firing with a color, texture and character, unique to its placement in the kiln.

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The color of a Shino Glaze ranges from cream to dark red. Shino glazes often exhibit crazing lines and may appear nearly transparent. This is the result of its high sodium content, usually from the addition of soda ash. These fracture lines, also called “crazing” are formed when the glaze cools.

“Crawling”, another variation of Shino, creates a deeply eroded surface, where the glaze peels back revealing the underlying clay body. This effect is known as “crawling Shino” and while many westerners view it as a glaze defect, individuals who appreciate the “Wabi-Sabi “ character, see beauty in its unpredictably.