Saggar firing

Saggar firing is the most recent technique I've tried. The term comes from clay containers that the ancient Asian potters would put their pots in to protect them from the wood ash in the giant wood fired kilns they used.

While clay saggars are still used, their purpose is now often transposed. Many potters now use them to trap ash, smoke and other fumes with the pot inside, in order to concentrate the effect on the surface.


The particular method we used was actually wrapping the pots in aluminum foil, after placing sawdust, bits of steel wool and copper pot scrubbie and more inside. After tightly closing the foil, they're tumble stacked in the kiln and fired.

After firing and cooling the pots are unwrapped, washed and scrubbed clean. Again, if the original ware was burnished, they can be waxed and polished.

For more posts about saggar firing, click on the SAGGAR tag below.