Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Saggar Firing

Saggar Firing at HM is quickly becoming an annual tradition.  A saggar is a container or box-like form used to create localized reduction, or concentrate the effects of salts or metals, on clay surfaces. Students constructed saggars using slabs of clay.  To enhance the saggar effects, students brushed their pottery with terra sigillata.  They placed their ceramic objects into the saggar along with a variety of combustibles (saw dust, paper, hay, oatmeal, rice, salt, copper wire, steel wool).  The saggars were then fired to 1640 F.  Results below:

Stuffing the saggars



Saggars stacked in the kiln

Openning the saggars



The results