Variations in Salt Firing

The use of salt to glaze pots began in Germany during the 1500's.  It is not known exactly how the idea came about.  Stories of cod crates or maybe a smart chemist who made pots on the side are common.  I don't know of any written accounts marking the first use of salt for glaze.  But the expert on this is Jack Troy.  His book on salt is still the best.  Many of us started out with his book in hand as we began to revive this firing technique. There are a number of other good books on the subject.  I will list them in the next post on salt.  


Traditional salt glazing is still one of the great high fire experiences.  So simple and direct.  There are many ways to manipulate the effects at ∆10. Reduction, use of slips and washes, saggars and flashing are just a few of the basic approaches.  


But an area that is not so commonly talked about is mid temperature salt or vapor firings.  We do them here at PrattMWP in the sophomore classes.  Sometimes we use terra cotta.  This semester we will be using the ∆10 salt body I like from Sheffield Pottery,T-3S.  I have used it at ∆ 3-6 will great results.  We will get into more detail in a later post.  Just a teaser for now.