Low-Fire Soda in the Rocket Kiln Workshop with Mathew Meunier at my Massachusetts Studio
In this exciting, multi-purpose Rocket Kiln building and low-soda firing workshop, students will be introduced to the wood-fired Rocket Kiln as well as Mathew Meunier’s low-soda process and other experimental techniques. Participants will assemble a Rocket Kiln firebox, modify a discarded electric kiln shell, stack the kiln with their pieces, and participate in a minimum of two cone 1-3 Rocket Kiln soda firings.
Under the guidance of Lisa Orr, we will build a Rocket Kiln start-to-finish on day one while practice firing an existing Rocket filled with test pieces. On day two we will fire the new kiln with pieces decorated using information from the first firing, enabling participants to create new blends and layers of various terra sigillatas, slips, and glazes. The subsequent firing will allow students to gain further experience with the firing process and build on previously fired results.
Workshop participants should plan to bring 20 cup-sized pieces, primarily in greenware, suitable for cone 1-3 and up to 30 test tiles. We might not fire all of them but extra is better. Clay can be mid-range or terra cotta suitable to these temperatures. If desired, pieces may be bisque fired ahead of the workshop. Participants will gain an understanding of the potential of low-soda firing with terra sigillatas and flashing slips, as well as and the ability to build and fire a Rocket Kiln of their own.
Permaculture meets ceramics in the low-wood, low-emission firing technology of the Rocket Kiln, based on the smokeless Rocket Stove technology. All temperatures up to cone 10 oxidation can be achieved in a few hours using an upcycled electric kiln shell atop an efficiently designed firing chamber. Rocket Kilns use one-fourth or less of the fuel typically used in a traditional wood firing. For fuel, the kiln uses one dry disassembled pallet per hour, or other suitable kindling, and because it fires with no visible smoke, a Rocket Kiln can be placed in an urban driveway, art center, or off-grid studio.
LOCATION: Lisa Orr Pottery Studio in Northborough, MA
ARRIVAL: 10am Friday July 31, 2026
DEPARTURE: 3pm Sunday August 2, 2026
WHAT TO BRING: 20 cup-sized pieces, primarily in greenware, suitable for cone 1-3 and up to 30 test tiles
PRICE: $350
