I woodfire my work in a wood kiln on a farm in the Peak District with a group of other potters. Each firing is an epic group effort involving one day of packing the kiln with pots and then a 16 to 20 hour firing in which we are stoking the kiln with wood about every five minutes. We fire stoneware to cone 9/10 (about 1280°C) and it is a reduction atmosphere, which results in the beautiful toasty effects on the pots, and the flames and ash create variation and shine across the unglazed surfaces.

The wood kiln is called Bertha and she was built by Sue Mulroy. Although she is old and temperamental, she fires our pots gorgeously and through coming together to fire her we have formed a lovely little community of potters in and around the Peak District.