Sometimes, oftentimes, we don't get the pot we want after it's been fired. Even if a piece has survived the fire without warping or cracking, its color or lack of color can be disappointing. That's as true with pit firing as with glaze firing. Until this year, I thought I was pretty much stuck with a piece after pit firing it once. Then I watched a YouTube video about pit firing in which the person stated in passing, "And if you don't like how a piece looks, you can always fire it again." I've fired many pieces more than once in a glost kiln, but I'd never considered refiring a pit fired piece. The major problem I've had with pit firing is that quite a few pieces turn out almost completely black, usually because I was using pieces of wood that were too large and hadn't dried out enough. Large pieces of wet wood produce long firings at relatively low temperatures. Now when I fire or refire pit fired pieces, I use wood that's cut into small pieces and that's been dried for at least 6 months, longer if possible. I also try to get the fire as hot as I can near the beginning. During the first hour, I use a box that's been folded flat to fan the flames which significantly increases the temperature inside the can. Rather than vague blushes of red or yellow or peach, the higher temperatures leave well-defined splotches of color, and the color is driven deeper into the pot which makes it look more three dimensional. I'm also experimenting with spreading coarse steel wool around the pot. What I'm finding is that the steel wool catches the ash and helps create patches of color with distinct edges. After the first hour I stop fanning the flames. Why? Because if the temperature is too hot for too long, it will burn color off the pot instead of putting it on the pot.
This past Monday, I refired a piece that I'd fired in the spring. I'd thought about refiring it but decided to wax it and try to sell it. It didn't sell at any of the sales I had in the last 5 weeks so I decided to refire it. I wasn't sure what would happen since I'd already put Johnson's floor wax on it and polished it. I thought it would probably just burn off, and I was right. In fact, it became one of the most successful pit fired pieces that I've ever made. I also fired three other pieces, all for the first time, and none of them turned out well. The four pieces were fired in two different containers. One cracked and had to be thrown away, and two had very little color at all and will need to be refired. There was one, however, the one I was refiring, that turned out well.
One other thing that was different about this firing was the Miracle Gro that I used. I always put Miracle Gro around my pots because it has lots of stuff that creates good color on pots. In this case, I'd left the bag in a spot outside where water got inside and had melted almost all of it. I almost threw it out but decided to add it and see what happened. Since I didn't have that much, I put it around only the pot I was refiring. I noticed something unusual when the fire had burned down but the coals were still very hot: strong green flames were coming up on both sides of the pot for at least 20 minutes which was quite unusual for this time in the firing. I'd also used copper carbonate in powder form around all of the pots, but none of them showed any green flames at this time except around the one around which I'd poured the liquid Miracle Gro. In my next firing I'm going to purposely mix Miracle Gro with water and maybe copper carbonate as well and adding it using a squirt bottle. It would certainly be easier to apply and would be easier to keep off the surface of the pot which can cause problems.
Below are photos of the pot after the first pit firing and then after the refiring. Let me know if you have any comments or questions about any of this.
This past Monday, I refired a piece that I'd fired in the spring. I'd thought about refiring it but decided to wax it and try to sell it. It didn't sell at any of the sales I had in the last 5 weeks so I decided to refire it. I wasn't sure what would happen since I'd already put Johnson's floor wax on it and polished it. I thought it would probably just burn off, and I was right. In fact, it became one of the most successful pit fired pieces that I've ever made. I also fired three other pieces, all for the first time, and none of them turned out well. The four pieces were fired in two different containers. One cracked and had to be thrown away, and two had very little color at all and will need to be refired. There was one, however, the one I was refiring, that turned out well.
One other thing that was different about this firing was the Miracle Gro that I used. I always put Miracle Gro around my pots because it has lots of stuff that creates good color on pots. In this case, I'd left the bag in a spot outside where water got inside and had melted almost all of it. I almost threw it out but decided to add it and see what happened. Since I didn't have that much, I put it around only the pot I was refiring. I noticed something unusual when the fire had burned down but the coals were still very hot: strong green flames were coming up on both sides of the pot for at least 20 minutes which was quite unusual for this time in the firing. I'd also used copper carbonate in powder form around all of the pots, but none of them showed any green flames at this time except around the one around which I'd poured the liquid Miracle Gro. In my next firing I'm going to purposely mix Miracle Gro with water and maybe copper carbonate as well and adding it using a squirt bottle. It would certainly be easier to apply and would be easier to keep off the surface of the pot which can cause problems.
Below are photos of the pot after the first pit firing and then after the refiring. Let me know if you have any comments or questions about any of this.
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