Pottery Firing Q&A - Ancient Pottery Livestream

[@nickjohnson410]

I am continually jealous of your shirts. They are so awesome!

[@AncientPottery]

Ha ha, just trying to keep people entertained.

[@markgibsons_SWpottery]

Great live-stream! Thank you again, Andy! Good info, for sure!

[@petrapetrakoliou8979]

Instead of putting the pottery on stone, I lay down a bed of wood on the ember of the first fire and stack the pottery on that wood. It seems to contribute to a better firing and more warm coming from down and also starts the second fire more spontaniously. But usually my aim is to smother the pottery black, to which purpose it seems to be helping too. That's why I don't use any cover-sherds either: the clays that I take from nature don't seem to need them, nor any temper unless I do really thick-walled pottery. If you put a lot of cover-sherds, the effect is like that of a mini-kiln (you almost said kiln there!), so you'll have a much more uniform firing which is great if you do painted pots.

[@Kargoneth]

Thanks for the video, Andy.

[@tammyandkiki]

Always love all of the information, tremendously important and helpful. Thank you so very much for sharing ❤ Feel totally better soon!

[@margaretsmith8066]

Love your videos. I grew up in the four corners area and now live in Indiana. Your videos make me home sick... I'm wanting to find some clay here and make some pots, but I'm sure it will be much harder to find natural clay here in IN. Thank you for such great information and instructions.

[@margiegandy9189]

This was so incredibly helpful!

[@lydiabustinduy485]

So kind to share your knowledge

[@reginaf.2719]

Hello from Huntsville Alabama....sorry I missed the live show.....our internet was down this afternoon 😢

[@petrapetrakoliou8979]

These presentations are gold! Do you think the ancient potters fired larger quantities or smaller ones? In ethnology they seem to document only large fires whether in Africa, in Tibet or in the US. This may also influence the temperature or how long they fire.

[@Adriaanthecrafter]

Awww. I missed the livestream. All well maybe next time

[@lydiabustinduy485]

How far from the fire pots should be heated. Do they need to be rotated?

[@stephen33]

Hello I have two questions for you. I am experimenting with using vinegar to wash and levegate clay. I am trying to remove calcuim by disolving it out. I also wanted to remove other impurities. Is using vinegar in clay a bad idea? I am changing the water until it no longer smells on vinegar. I plan to use Diatomaceous Earth as a temper but I as worried about the calcuim content if any. It's food grade. Have you used DE in your clay above 800C? (I apologise I am not sure where to ask my questions.)

[@amospena2046]

Hello sir, would the same temperatures be needed to fire small ornamental pieces such as a seed pot no bigger than a silver dollar? Thank you.

[@AncientPottery]

Yes, same method works for any size of ceramics