Jordan: Artist Statement

My primary interest in pit firing [links 1 - 2] comes from my desire to create pieces that are truly one of a kind, with unique and unrepeatable coloration.  I never really like it when someone can take a look at something I did and duplicate it.  It makes me feel that my work is commonplace. 

Unlike the kilns used by our school and most other schools pit firing does not rely on glazes to color the ceramic; instead smoke and other natural elements present in the firing process add lines and unique color to the pieces.  These results are unachievable in modern electric or gas kilns, and I enjoy using natural elements such as seaweed to achieve wonderful colors. Another aspect of my interest is that this is the way ceramics were originally done thousands of years ago. 

Even though I have taken four ceramics course at HM I have never given much consideration to how our work is fired.  Pit firing gave me a wonderful opportunity to learn about the firing process and see how I could alter it to get my desired results.