Firing the Salt Kiln with Terry Plasket

Join us for this exciting hands-on, 2-day workshop with Terry Plasket!

With over 4 decades of ceramic experience, Terry will guide students through glazing and decorating pots to load in the salt kiln. Salt firing is an exciting atmospheric process, similar to wood and soda fired ceramics, where the salt is added to the kiln at high temperatures to create a vaporized glaze surface. This adds additional movement to surfaces and seals unglazed areas, creating compelling atmospheric effects.

Meet the Artist

Terry Plasket grew up in South Jersey, born and raised in Pennsville, NJ. He attended Jacksonville University in Florida and continued his education at Glassboro State College (now Rowan University). He began work at WheatonArts full time in 1979 and has remained there ever since. Primarily working in functional pottery, Terry uses both stoneware and porcelain clays in his work. He fires his pots in one of three kilns at WheatonArts – a high fire reduction gas kiln, a salt glaze kiln, and a chamber noborigama style wood-fired kiln.

What to know (PLEASE READ)

We will be meeting at the WheatonArts Center in Millville, NJ at 12:00 pm on Saturday, August 22nd to glaze our pots and load the kiln. Glazing and kiln loading time varies, so it may extend beyond the 5 hour scheduled time slot. Students are encouraged and welcome to stay the entire time, but may leave early if they need to drive back home.

We will be meeting again the following Sunday, August 30th, to unload the kiln together, discuss the results, and cleanup the kiln furniture and our pots. If you can't make it to the unload, student work will be brought back to Wooten Clayworks in Hackettstown, NJ and can be picked up at your earliest convenience.

Please note that this class requires cone 10 high fire clay, which can be purchased from Wooten Clayworks, Ceramics Supply, or The Ceramic Shop. Students will need to bring work already made and bisqued to fire. All glazes and flashing slips will be provided with the workshop for students to use.

What to bring (PLEASE READ)

Work will not be provided for students to fire. Students may bring 10-12 of their own bisque-fired pots to glaze and load into the kiln. Plates are not advised, unless students plan to stack them, as they often warp and take up a lot of space. Students are encouraged to bring an additional piece or two of small items, as they are often easier to slide into the kiln if we have small spaces. If you choose to bring just small pieces, then more items may fit into the firing.

Example of what to bring:

• 1-2 medium sized pieces 12" and under

• 1-4 bowls as wide pieces

• 4-6 cups, mugs, and various functional sized forms

We cannot guarantee that all work will make it into the kiln, but will do our best. Loading any kiln is like a puzzle, and it depends on the different sizes and shapes of the pieces going in. We will be optimizing space to load as many pieces as possible to ensure the best firing results.

Firing an atmospheric kiln is always a community-based event, so feel free to bring your own lunch, snacks, and beverages! Plan on a day of laughter, learning, and company as we join together to fill the salt kiln!

Opportunities to Prepare

If you would like to learn more about atmospheric firing to help prepare for this workshop, Dallas Wooten will be teaching a special 5-week course on creating work for atmospheric kilns beginning July 9th. Students are not required to take this course to participate in the workshop; however, it is designed to further student understanding of the process and designing work for salt kilns. More information can be found here.

Note: While we can’t guarantee the quality and success of the pieces you make in this class, instructors will do their best to guide you through the process. Students are expected to assist with cleanup of their workspace.

Please visit our policies page for cancellation and rescheduling information.