Monday, September 28, 2015

Out of the fire

I made these little clay houses a couple of weeks ago.


Yesterday I popped them into a fire pit. 


This morning I pulled out some lovely little rustic houses!


I really have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to clay. I've learned a lot with the few firings I've done, but I am by no means a 'potter'. I'm not looking to make a tea set or food-safe dishes. If I manage a few primitive pieces in the process of playing and experimenting, I'm happy.

Those little houses may not look like much to a seasoned potter, but today they make me pretty happy :)

11 comments:

  1. They are beautiful! I would be happy too!!!

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  2. Hi Nichola, love your little clay houses, you were brave to put them into the fire pit! Thanks for visiting my blog today, nice to meet you! Hugs, Valerie

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  3. Oooooooooooooooooooh - I never knew you could even fire the clay in an open fire pit!!!!! How do you do it? Very curious as we often have an open fire when we go away to the cottage and it would be awesome if I could multitask and use it to make some clay goodies with it too!

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    1. Basically I dig a pit, toss it in, and hope for the best :P I'm going to try and do a proper post next time I do it with some pointers of the things I've learned.

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    2. That would be great if you do! I am now wondering if I could toss a few into the woodstove this winter, but am a bit afraid - would hate if one exploded if it would damage the glass. But I am seriously intrigued. I am liking the soot/smoky patterns on the back ones - I am thinking it has a bit of haunted village look to it.

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    3. There is a very high % of exploding in this type of firing and the temps get higher than you would typically want in your woodstove. Here is a very simple explaination http://www.wildwoodsurvival.com/survival/containers/pottery/pitfiring.html

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    4. Thanks for sharing - I am going to give this a try next time we are at the cottage - if the ground is diggable then.

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  4. You now have an entire city! How cool is this :) Would love to know what you learned from your play time.

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  5. Nichola, these are stunning. I could just eat up your blog with a spoon. Is that a piece of metal behind the fire, and does it separate the clay from the flame?
    Thanks for all the inspiration and wonder...
    Julie

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