Ceramics Saggar Firing

Saggar firing is the method of creating confined atmospheres within a container or saggar.

Ceramics saggar firing.

A saggar is a type of kiln furniture. Ceramic artist brenda mcmahon shows how to wrap a pot in a paper clay saggar in preparation for a saggar firing. It is a ceramic boxlike container used in the firing of pottery to enclose or protect ware being fired inside a kiln traditionally saggars were made primarily from fireclay. Originally saggars were used to protect the finish from the debris flying around the firing chamber from the wood or coal fuel source.

To contain fumes around a pot so that the pot to picks up color from the fumes saggars are the lidded containers used to contain and isolate pots during a saggar firing. The saggar takes the abuse of rapid thermal changes. This excerpt came from our book naked raku and related bare clay techniques which is available in the ceramic arts shop. Saggar is a container used during the firing process to enclose or protect ware being fired inside a kiln.

Here is a non exclusive list of colorants for pit firing or to be used inside of a saggar. Because the saggar protects the pot while firing it is not important to have a clay body that withstands the thermal shock of raku firing. Saggar firing was originally developed to protect wares from ash slagging and flame flashing in wood firings but in contemporary use with clean burning gas firings the process is used in exactly the opposite way. I put a bed of materials on the bottom of the saggar and place small crucibles made of clay containing salt around the bottom.

This hands on technique will help all potter. Then i either place the pot in and gently put other materials around the side of the pot or wrap and tie materials in place around the pot using copper wire reed or even string and then place it into the saggar. The saggar can be made out of anything depending on the type of firing from the traditional refractory clay to newspaper. There are many things that will produce colors some better than others when placed in the pit.

Traditionally saggars were made primarily from fireclay.