The Horsehair Firing Process

The horse hair firing process starts like the Raku firing.  I place pieces into a hot kiln, heat them up to a temperature of about 1000 degrees.  At that temperature, I carefully remove the piece, place it on a non-combustible surface and gently place strands of horsehair directly on the pottery.  The horse hair permanently burns into the surface of the piece creating web like lines.  I have a window of 5 minutes to work with the horsehair.  If the piece is too hot, the horse hair will not burn a distinctive line.  If the piece is too cool, the horse hair will not burn. 

I saw horse hair pottery when I spent time in the Southwest.  The delicate lines that the horse hair made on the pottery intrigued me.  I knew that at some time I would learn this technique.