Another paper box firing

Some friends & I managed a paper box firing on Saturday 19 November. We were very lucky with the weather - no total fire ban. For safety we did the firing at the Central Coast Potters' Society. We placed the boxes inside the pit kiln and covered it overnight.

There was some success but not as much colour or intense black as last time. It's all a learning process & I was happy just to be doing it. We experimented a little with different materials in different boxes - we fired 7 boxes in total. Some of the materials included orange peel, seaweed, salt, powder from a ground-back brass bell, salt soaked string and banksia pods, local oyster shells, eucalyptus sticks & leaves, sea grass, sawdust, banana peel and cobalt.

There were some unremarkable results with a few exceptions - see photos below. The cobalt solution had little effect unfortunately. The one pot I dabbed it on showed a slight tinge of blue.

The seaweed gave some light browns but nothing dramatic. Some of my pots took on colour from the brass powder which was great.

Tip for next time - stack the boxes in a smaller space to increase the heat and burning time and allowing more burning time before covering.

Today I'm going to re-fire some of the pots in a box inside the enclosed fire that heats the house. The weather is still cold and rainy, so it'll be good to get a bit of warmth into the house, as well as do a firing. Hopefully the results will be more interesting.