Pit Firing at Earth Center Pottery

Pit fired pottery is a wide spread firing technique among indigenous people all over the world. In America, this Native American art form has been perfected and is highly valued among collectors.

There are many variations to the process. At Earth Center Pottery, we built an above ground pit out of fire bricks. Traditional pits are dug into the ground. The bricks are positioned at altered intervals to create a

seal, but no mortar is used. This type of pit can be disassembled, enlarged, reduced and moved as space requires.

Wood chips or sawdust are an important part of the pit fire process, and walnut is considered by many to be the best. We are fortunate to be able to procure our sawdust from Nakashima Wood Studio, a local legendary furniture making studio in Solebury, PA. It is wonderful to be a part of completing the cycle that begins with these powerful trees, and ends with pottery as we honor the original keepers of this land.


An above ground pit made with fire brick with an initial layer of wood chips	Burnished, bisque fired pots wraped with combustable, mineral rich materials are laid in the pit	Minerals, powdered metals, seaweed and rock salt are sprinkled on and around the pots	A teepee style bonfire is built around the pots using split hardwood, newspaper, natural charcoal, and more wood chips.

The fire is ignited and fed, then covered to smolder	"Out of the ashes" 24 hours later, our first primordial look at the fired pots	Pots are removed from the pit with tongs to cool	Finished ,waxed Native American pit fired pieces.