1. salt firing
at the beginning of June 2026, I took part in a salt firing masterclass by ceramisist bernadette stokwielder in veghel, the netherlands. with me I brought 15 small ceramic pieces, including my very first little thrown teapot and, of course, two hand built ponies.
Salt firing is a reduction firing process originating in germany where ceramic pieces are gas-fired to stoneware temperatures (up to 1280 degrees) and little pots of kitchen salt are added to the kiln to help glaze the ware. as the salt vaporises, it binds with the silica in the clay and produces a glassy coating. to add colour to the ware, glazes and slips may be added pre-firing.
as i’m writing this, the pieces I brought are still undergoing their firing. however, I thought it’d be nice to document them before firing, both as a reminder to myself, as well as to give you an insight into the process. there was a ton of lovely glazes and slips to choose from, but my preference went to a combination of five: blue de reduction, yoomi blue, blue kwan chun celadon, shino 3a and red slip. although I could have tried a lot more, I liked the idea of going for a limited palette, as I do with most of my ceramic work. we’ve been handed the recipes to all slips and glazes used, which allows us to recreate the glazes for future salt fired projects.
due to its great popularity, it’s proven to be quite difficult to partake in any of the follow-up single salt firings. even before having seen the results, i’m already eager to one day attent another firing. fingers crossed i’ll manage to grab a spot next season! for now, let’s have a look at the pieces pre-firing, before i’ll show you the finished results.
1. blue de reduction + shino 3a
2. shino 3a
on white clay
3. yoomi blue + shino 3a
4. crackle ash glaze by miezepluis
5. blue Kwan chun celadon
6. blue de reduction + red slip
on toffee clay
7. blue de reduction + shino 3a
on white clay
8. blue Kwan chun celadon + red slip
9. blue Kwan chun celadon + red slip
on white clay
10. yoomi blue + shino 3a
11. blue de reduction + shino 3a
on toffee clay
12. blue de reduction + shino 3a
13. shino 3a + red slip
on white clay
14. yoomi blue + shino 3a
on white clay
15. blue kwan chun celadon + red slip
on white clay