Visit My Studios
Spiral Ridge Pottery Studio
Spiral Ridge Pottery Studio is located in Shannondale, West Virginia, less than an hour from Reston. Fulfilling a long-time dream of mine, we built a gas-fired salt kiln there in the summer of 2002. Here are some photos of the process. See My Work for examples of pottery fired in this kiln.
The kiln floor is constructed from cinder blocks and firebrick set on a thick concrete slab.
The kiln walls were built one course at a time from high-alumina firebrick on the inside and soft insulating brick on the outside. The slatted form shown in the foreground was used to support the kiln's arched roof while it was being built, then was removed.
Marianne and her assistant, Gamble McKown, celebrating at the beginning of the first firing of the new kiln in October, 2002
Here in the fall of 2011, Marianne uses a piece of angle iron to add salt to the kiln. The salt volatilizes and the sodium in the salt chemically combines with the silica in the clay to form a glaze on the pots.