Primitive Pottery Primer

This intensive 3 day course focuses on methods of forming and decorating pottery, then firing the pots in open pit fires just as primitive cultures did thousands of years ago.

• Form pottery as our ancient ancestors did
• Decorate your pots with a variety of earth colored slips and textures
• Pull red hot pots from the fire and plunge them into water to cool
• Discovery the alchemy of turning natural clays into stone vessels

Day 1 May 1, 2010 9am-Afternoon We create pottery using the pinch, slab, coil and paddle & anvil forming methods. Other shaping techniques and nuances are explored with many demos including making handles, lids, spouts, etc. Filtering native clays and types of decoration for pots are demonstrated and discussed. A 2nd firing of a pot will demonstrate the Maricopa Style of creating carbon black pigment.

Day 2 May 2, 2010 9am-Afternoon We focus on finishing pottery and decorating the pots with colored slips, textures, etc. Decoration can make or break a pot and the possibilities are endless. In the afternoon the instructor will fire some of his pottery in an open pit fire.

Day 3 May 8, 2010 9am-Afternoon We return after a week of letting the pottery dry and make any last minute adjustments as we begin preheating the pots, The firing process takes about 6 to 7 hours from preheating the pots thru firing until the pottery is cool enough to handle. We should be finished around 4:30pm-5pm.

About the Instructor

Estabon Fire’s interaction with clay began at the age of five, when he formed his first mud pies and laid them out to bake in the hot, central Oregon sun. Since then, clay continues to fascinate and inspire him.

College pottery courses exposed Estabon to his first experience with the direct firing techniques of raku and primitive pottery. During a fateful trip to Italy he was introduced to the beauty of the tall, water-bearing Italian ollas. Today, Estabon continues to travel the world, collecting, creating and teaching prehistoric styles of pottery. Estabon’s interests are not limited to pottery.

An avid climber of tall trees - 300+ feet - he has slept in treetop hammocks and scaled trees from the Redwoods to the tropical rainforest. Other interests include filmmaking, building tree houses, reading, hiking and gardening.