playing with fire

Pitfire.

https://gopro.com/v/574adpeJwW5KN

Click on the link above to see a video of the process


The pieces of work are first baked in the electric oven up to 950 C. Outside, a pit in the garden is filled with sawdust and old newspapers. The piece of work are doused with a solution of cobalt, iron or copper sulphate. This to get a deeper color. Lately, I have been rolling the ceramics into plants, which sometimes leave their imprint on the work. Wood is laid between the pieces and set on fire. After burning up the wood, it only becomes visible what the flames have done to the piece of work. The action of the sawdust, the newspapers, the wood and the sulfates give a lively, flamed result. It’s always a surprise what the result is. When everything has cooled and cleaned, the piece of work is rubbed with beeswax. The color comes to life and makes the piece of work shine

Dancing birds pitfire

Imprints of plants

Structures of nature

The earth itself as a source of inspiration for experimenting with texture in the clay