An introduction to salt firing is a three day long firing course at Wobage farm workshops in beautiful rural south Herefordshire aimed at introducing you to the materials and techniques of salt firing whilst offering you a chance to take away salt glazed wares of your own.
The course will focus on the use of salt slips, the packing and firing of the salt kiln along with technical presentations around the materials and chemistry of salt firing. You will be invited to bring a selection of bisque fired pots in a pale stoneware clay that we will decorate with a range of supplied slips and glaze. These pots will then be wadded and packed into the kiln to be salt fired to 1280c.
The first day there will be a presentation about the process of salt firing and the selection of slips and glazes we will be offering. After this presentation you will unpack your pots and slip, glaze and wad them before packing the kiln.
The second day will be firing the kiln, approximately a 10-12 hour process including a long crash cool starting at 8am with the salting itself taking place between 5-7pm.
The third and final day will consist of unpacking the wares and assessing the result together before cleaning down the kiln and packing up your pots.
If you book onto the course you will need to bring 15-30 small to medium size pots. We recommend making two heights of around 10cm and 20cm tall of varying widths and shapes. This parameter ensures a smooth and fair packing of the pots into the kiln. All pot must be made from stoneware clay. We recommend these pots are made from a pale clay with less than 3% iron such as white st Thomas as this will offer the best results. All pots must be biscuit fired to 1000c no raw pots will be firing as part of the course.
Refreshments and a vegetarian lunch will be offered over all three days.
