Anagama Kiln Opening

All photos: Town and Cottage

These photos show the success of this year's Anagama Kiln Opening hosted by the Gulf Coast Kiln Society on Feb. 4, 2012.

The crowd at Saturday's opening of the wood-fired kiln raved as each stunning piece of ash-glazed pottery emerged from the Anagama kiln at Holley Hill Pottery in Navarre. More than 700 ceramic pots and pieces of artwork were fired in the kiln. This year the wood for the firing came from trees felled by road crews working to make Hwy. 87 a four-lane hurricane evacuation route.

During the kiln opening ceremony, each piece of pottery was handed down a line of people before it reached an outdoor display area. Then the crowd gathered around the pottery to examine the beautiful variety of colorful shapes and dripping effects of the melted white ash. 

During the firing, the kiln reached 2,500 degrees. Deposits of wood ash from the community's trees created lasting impressions of the oaks, some 300-400 years old. It took about five days for the kiln to slowly cool before the pottery could be removed from the walk-in size kiln.