Anagama: The Process

There is an inherent referral to the ancient techniques of Korea, China and Japan in our election to fire our wares in a wood kiln. The Anagama kiln is an ancient type of pottery kiln brought to Japan from China via Korea in the 5th century. An anagama (a Japanese term meaning "cave kiln") consists of a firing chamber with a firebox at one end and a flue at the other (note that although the term "firebox" is used to describe the space for the fire, there is no physical structure separating the stoking space from the pottery space). The term Anagama describes single-chamber kilns built in a sloping tunnel shape. In fact, ancient kilns were sometimes built by digging tunnels into banks of clay.

The anagama is fueled with firewood, in contrast to the electric or gas-fueled kilns commonly used by most contemporary potters. A continuous supply of fuel is needed for firing, as wood thrown into the hot kiln is consumed very rapidly. Stoking occurs round-the-clock until an appropriate temperature is reached. We spend between two to four days, around the clock, consuming several cords of wood to reach an approximate 2400 degrees Fahrenheit. This process is labor-intensive, requiring a team of potters to consistently stoke about four pieces of wood every 2 to 4 minutes throughout the duration of the firing. Records of historic firings in large Asian kilns shared by several village potters describe several weeks of steady stoking per firing.

Many potters respond to wood firing because of the active participation in bringing their pots to finish. There is a quiet, soft rumble as wood is stoked into the kiln; there is the odor of the various types of wood igniting; there is the flame pulsing and licking out of every orifice it can locate: all this imparts the sensation that we are feeding and making grow something very alive. This vitality seems to fuse with the pots themselves and entirely influence the visual appearance, the texture, and the very spirit of the resulting wares. The fire reaches such a high temperature that the ash from the wood flows through the kiln like leaves on a river of flame, snows down on the rims and shoulders of the vessels, and melts into a natural glaze where it lands. Each piece retrieved from the kiln is a visual record of the path and activity of the fire. The glaze may show great variation in color, texture, and thickness, ranging from smooth and glossy to rough and sharp. The placement of pieces within the kiln distinctly affects the pottery's appearance, as pieces closer to the firebox may receive heavy coats of ash, or even be immersed in embers, while others deeper in the kiln may only be softly touched by ash effects. Other factors that depend on the location include temperature and oxidation/reduction. Besides location in the kiln, (as with other fuel fired updraft kilns) the way pieces are placed near each other affects the flame path and thus, the appearance of pieces within localized zones of the kiln can vary as well. It is said that loading an anagama kiln is the most difficult part of the firing. The potter must imagine the flame path as it rushes through the kiln, and use this sense to paint the pieces with fire. The element of chance, that haphazard possibility of humble yet dramatic beauty is precisely the aesthetic that draws us to wood fire-- whether as potters, participants or collectors. We have intentionally embraced certain risks, and forgone certain assurances of outcome in doing so-- and with great enthusiasm. Although in America we have altered somewhat the approach to wood firing in terms of both the end product and process, there continues to be great reverence and reference to our Asian predecessors and contemporaries in what we do.