Once the kiln was loaded, the potters bricked up the doors and started a small campfire, which would eventually grow to fill all three chambers of the kiln. The potters divided themselves into three ...

And so the more I got into it, the more I was like, this is awesome.” Sam Nguyen, owner of Say It With Glass, shows pieces in the kiln at her business in Carrboro, N.C. on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024.

Henry Crissman, who runs a community studio in Hamtramck, Michigan with his wife, Virginia Torrence, led the festivities. Crissman’s interest in wood firing is as sociological as it is artistic.