A large portion of the ceramic work that we make at the Wright House Arts is fired using a process called Salt Firing, which we also do in a kiln fueled entirely by raw wood. We built the kiln in the Summer of 2020, based on the publicly available Peg Udall plan. The kiln is a catenary arch, cross-draft, fast firing design meant to be fired from cold to peak temperature—around 2300 degrees Fahrenheit or Cone 10—in 8-12 hours. We also introduce a small amount of table salt near peak temperature using an angle iron or garden sprayer. The salt vaporizes and, along with floating ash and cinders, fuses to any clay surface available.

In our kiln, we use a range of high-fire clays, including light stoneware, dark stoneware, and porcelains. They are left bare, slipped, or glazed in ways meant to work with the flame and atmosphere of the wood and salt, creating a beautifully flashed and semi-fluxed finish.