Pit Fire: Pit-firing is an ancient method of firing pots in a shallow hole in the ground with sawdust and wood.  At my studio, I add both organic and chemical ingredients such as coffee grounds, salt and copper carbonate to the firing pit to help induce color on the pots.

Raku: Westernized raku is based upon an ancient japanese technique of pulling red-hots pots out of a kiln.  At my studio the pots are then placed in a chamber full of combustible materials such as leaves, sawdust or newspaper and allowed to burn briefly before the chamber is closed and the vessels are reduced/smoked.

Horsehair Raku: This is a technique where pots are pulled out of the kiln around 1300 degrees and individual strands of horse hair are placed on the pot where they carbonize and leave marks and smoke patterns.  This techniqe is often coupled with ferric chloride fuming.

Slip - Resist: A thick layer of rough groggy slip is applied to a bisqued pot.  It crackles as it dries and hopefully remains on the vessel throughout a firing where the pot is then pulled out of the kiln red-hot to be smoked.  The smoke enters the cracks leaving crackle patterns.  When cool, the slip is scraped off revealing the full effects.