Tres Piedras Kiln Site
The wood kiln site is located near the historic railroad stop in Tres Piedras, New Mexico. This was the train stop for the “Chili Line” that brought passengers and supplies to Taos, New Mexico until the 1940’s. The kiln site is located on 5 acres of high desert sage covered mesa that overlooks Taos and the Northern Rio Grande National Monument.
The Ground Hog
The first of two groundhog style kilns were built in 2009 by Scott Rutherford, John Bradford and the collective help of 8 other friends eager to try out a new kiln design. Completed in 2 weeks the kiln design was inspired by the historically old ground hog style kilns used by potters in the 1800’s in the southern Appalachia region. We wanted to try an simply designed easy to fire wood / salt kiln that would produce salt fired effects different from the japanese style Anagama kilns.
The “Hog” kiln is a wood fired cross-draft salt kiln whose design was developed by the southern Appalachian potters in the 1800’s. It creates wood fired pottery that is salt glazed with a finishing temperature of 2400 degrees . It will hold an average of 1000 pots per firing, and requires four days to fire. It is fired in an oxidizing atmosphere and crash cooled at the climax of the 4 day firing to create bright shiny surfaces with a warm wood fired patina. It usually takes an eight person team to fire the kilns. Eight cords of wood are used to achieve the temperature desired and then baking soda and salt are added to enhance the glaze surfaces.
The Anagama
The anagama was the first built at the Tres Piedras site . Designed and built by John Bradford, its first firing happened in 2005. A Japanese style wood-fired cross-draft kiln. A 20 ft long brick tunnel with a 20 ft tall chimney at one end. The kiln was fired for 5-6 days to 2400 degrees.
The design of this kiln allows the wood ash and flame path to slowly deposit delicate ash glaze surfaces on the pots. The pots are tightly stacked. The careful stacking and the path of the flame leaves beautiful one of a kind flash and ash glaze patterning on the surface of each piece of pottery. At the end of the firing the kiln is placed in a heavy reduction cooling cycle that allows the coloration to mature around the flame path marks on the pottery. The pots are unloaded a week later revealing subtle matte ash glaze surfaces that are the result of this long wood-fire process.
After 19 years of service this kiln was decommissioned in 2023 and its bricks were reused to build a second Groundhog Kiln on the site.
We are open to having any interested potters join in the community and upcoming firings. Please contact us.
Kiln Site
The kiln site is on the south side of US 64, aprox 3mi east from Tres Piedras, New Mexico and the junction of 285 and US 64. Look for the little pink school bus. The kiln site is 500 Yards off the road.
