Alternative Firing

Alternative Firing is a collection of one-of-a-kind vessels exploring raku, horsehair, saggar, smoke, and metal-fuming techniques. Unlike conventional kiln firing, these processes introduce combustible materials, organic matter, metal salts, and rapid changes in atmosphere to create surfaces that cannot be fully planned or repeated.

Some pieces are removed from the kiln while glowing hot and placed into reduction chambers, where flame and smoke transform copper glazes into metallic reds, violets, blues, and smoky blacks. Others are marked directly with horsehair, wrapped in copper mesh, or enclosed with organic materials during firing to produce carbon trails, flashes of color, and layered patterns across the clay.

Each vessel begins with a deliberately formed surface, but fire, smoke, and material reactions complete the work. The resulting pieces preserve a visible record of their firing. Singular objects shaped as much by process and chance as by the hand.

These vessels are decorative and are not intended to hold water or for food use.