Anagama Firing Schedule + Registration
The Spring 2025 Anagama Firing is scheduled for May,9-11; Unloading on May 17.
How to Register
Interest in our anagama firings is high, so participation is determined in advance by a lottery. Approximately 2 months before our twice-yearly firings, we hold the lottery and alert the participants. Click the button below to join the lottery. Signing up does NOT guarantee you a place in the firing. You are just putting your name in the hat. You will be notified about the lottery results shortly after the sign-up deadline. If you get a spot, you will register and pay the workshop fee at that time.
The lottery sign-up deadline for the Spring 2025 Firing is February 28, 2025.
There are 15 available spaces for the firing, out of 25 total participants (10 are invited seasoned wood-firers: experienced people who have been chosen to help each shift go smoothly so that everyone will have a fun and safe firing with beautiful pieces to take home).
If you would like an email reminder before the deadline of each future Anagama lottery, sign up here.
Cost
If you win the participation lottery, there is a $125 participation fee for the Anagama Firing, which includes up to 2000 cubic inches of space in the kiln. There is a 25¢ per cubic inch fee for extra pieces, if we can fit them in.
Note: This event is open to the public. If you simply want to attend in order to watch and learn, you may do so for free, but you must arrange your visit in advance with the Hambidge office at office@hambidge.org or 706-746-7324.
Accommodations
There is space on the lawn for free camping and plenty of hotels nearby in Dillard and Clayton. Click here for a list of nearby accommodations. Contact the office at office@hambidge.org to arrange for camping on Hambidge property.
The Firing
Led by Vernon Smith, we will start glazing and loading on Friday at 9:00AM. Firing will begin that evening and continue through Sunday afternoon.
All participants are expected to measure, glaze and wad their own pieces, help with the loading, as well as take at least one shift stoking wood and to help move and stack firewood. The day of the pick up, everyone is expected to help unload the kiln, scrape kiln shelves, put away tools and glazes as well as stack firewood for the next firing. When there are many hands, it is not too much work for anyone.
As a general guide, participants should bring at least 2000 cubic inches of work to fire (HxWxD). Platters and large bowls are discouraged, but there’s usually plenty of room for cylindrical shapes under 9". All your work may not get in, but every effort is made to be fair with the available space. There will be glazes available (celadon, tenmoku and shinos), as well as some flashing slips to glaze your pieces before loading. Please feel free to bring some of your own Cone 10 glazes to experiment with. Needless to say, your pieces must be made with Cone 10 clay and bisque fired.
Click here to learn more about the history of our kiln.
SCHEDULE
Firing Weekend
Friday
9:00AM - Begin glazing and stacking, sign up for a shift
6:00PM - Propane burner; Later that evening start wood stoking
Saturday
ALL DAY - Stoking, stoking, and more stoking until cone 10 is down
Sunday
3pm - Finish stoking and brick up door
Unloading Weekend (the following weekend)
Saturday
10:00AM - Un-brick door, clean firebox and unload pieces. Clean-up, scrape shelves, general cleaning of studio and grounds