Clay Blog

Various musings on pottery, processes, and experiences.

Colorado State University

Wood-Salt Kiln

Back in 2023 I was asked by Del Harrow and Sanam Emami to help finish the chimney on a small wood-salt kiln they had been working on. In exchange for helping them build it up, I have been able to fire with them and the pottery students at CSU. The chimney was a lot of hauling bricks up a tall ladder (I've never stacked such a tall chimney), and it has been a great experience to work with this small little wood kiln over the years.

I also have my own designs to build a small wood kiln in the future, so working with this one has been a great experience. A little kiln like this doesn't require a very long firing, and the results come out of the kiln often, so it has been interesting to learn and test various slips and glazes with the wood ash and salt. Salt firing has not been prominent in my practice until recently. I've learned a lot by firing this kiln in addition to the others.

The image above is a picture of the door with pots fully fired. The catenary arch positioned sideways like this has been new for me, and the way it is stacked can present its own challenges, as the arch cuts off space abruptly. It is one of the simpler kiln designs to execute, as the arch is self supporting. Unlike other kilns, these do not need a significant amount of metal reinforcements around the exterior of the kiln to stay standing.

Not only is it a fun kiln to fire, I am able to work with students at the university. I teach people from various walks of life at Smokestack Pottery, but working with students committed to the ceramic arts has its own unique rewards. They are so passionate about learning the technical details of glazes, clay, and firing processes, and are ambitious about making good art. It means a lot to work with them because I remember how important it was for me to work with local artists when I was at Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO. Discussing the science behind ceramics is a passion of mine, and I don't always get to teach people who are interested in that area of the craft. Their excitement about ceramics is inspiring. I hope they get as much out of the experience as I do working with them.

It is also so wonderful to work with Sanam and Del. They have completely different perspectives than my own and I learn a lot about how to teach in different ways. Hearing about their projects is always sparks interest, as they explore different ways of making in a critical way. I encourage you to explore their work! They show in galleries internationally.

I am lucky to be a part of the CSU pottery community. Thank you Del and Sanam!

Wood Firing With Daniel Gardner

Loveland, CO

I've been lucky to meet Daniel Gardner through mutual friends since he designed and built an incredible train kiln in Loveland, CO. Before I met him I had never fired a kiln like this, in the way he fires it, so I've been able to learn so much from him every time we fire. Below is a picture of the kiln with Daniel on the upper left, with Rachel and Matt (owner of Stone Bear Studios). I'm on the lower left, next to a friend from Smokestack Pottery, Alex Walter. It has been fun to work with a different group of people outside of the Fort Collins ceramics scene. Daniel is building his new studio soon, so follow him if you are in Loveland!

The kiln is designed to funnel the ash through a narrow space. This creates effects that would be achievable in a larger, anagama kiln fired over the course of a week, but condenses the firing time to a couple of days. I am always impressed with the variety of the work that comes out of the kiln, and how little details during the firing process can make a big impact on the work. Daniel likes to reduction cool the kiln, which imparts specific colors on the finished work you would not get with a simpler firing method. In this picture you can see how close some of the work is to the main fire. This allows all the ash to fall on the work head first.

Wood Firing With Carl Judson

Over the past several years I have been operating the wood kiln at Carl Judson's Studio in Livermore. It has been an honor to be able to organize and lead a pack of crew members to fire the kiln. This is a large groundhog kiln that is all one chamber. We put wood in the front and in three ports along the side of the body to achieve and even temperature throughout. Some of my work in the "Work" section has been fired in this kiln. Unlike many gas or electric kilns, we stack work on top of one another, rather than using shelves in order to save space. Designing work that can stack upon one another has been an interesting challenge when thinking about form and function. I take this idea into other processes in order to use space efficiently and be able to make adaptations in my stacking techniques to fit spaces that would otherwise be left empty in a kiln. This practice is important to me because it is seems to be predicated on making work that puts design and utility first, and aesthetics second.

We usually spend 3-4 days loading the kiln before firing. This is a picture of the inside chamber. The channel in the middle is there to conveniently load work, and I build the floor as I work from loading pottery from back to front, leaving gaps in between pottery to be able to put wood in the sides. I've learned a lot from this kiln, as we fire with wood primarily for fuel, and sometimes use waste oil as well. Unlike many wood fired potters, this kiln is not designed or fired to achieve heavy ash effects, or make specific colors by firing a very particular way. We simply use the wood as a Fuel Source, and try and get the kiln evenly heated to cone 8 as quickly as we can. At the end of the firing we dump roughly 20lbs of salt into the kiln, which glazes the work even further (the wood ash deposits on certain pieces depending upon their location). I rarely did any salt firing before using this kiln, so it has been great to learn how to get specific effects related to the process.

Panel Discussion with Design Stories: Handmade

I was honored to be a participant in a panel discussion about designers within the handmade realm recently in June 2025. Katie Miner Style and Better Half to Whole put on a great event with a lot of great panelists and audience members!

We talked about challenges of running a business based around handmade work, how our thoughts and lives influence our work, and what we think of design in the modern world. I found it interesting how many of the discussions disparaging AI and social media are an extension of thoughts from the 20th century, as Industrialization began to ramp up.

Included in the discussion was Talisman Fine Jewelry, Lacey & Lilies, Joseph Miranda (me) and Aulde. The event was held at a newer venue in town, The Neighbor, which has a beautiful space with high ceilings, great coffee, and wonderful cocktails. All photos above are taken by Jesse, owner of Explore Younique.

One of my favorite participants in the panel was Aulde. Their whole idea behind restoration of beautiful, old furniture seemed to bring forward a lost culture from the past. That idea is special to me, as my work attempts to bring forth processes that have been used for centuries.

Loveland Reporter Herald Article

I was recently written up in the Loveland Reporter Herald Eat + Drink pages! If you subscribe to the Loveland Herald you can find me in one of the line items. It is great to be going down to Loveland every month or so, and finding community there.

"Visitors will discover an array of beautifully crafted pieces that make perfect gifts —or even better, a little something special for themselves. Among the most anticipated vendors is Joseph Miranda Pottery, known for its wood kiln-fired bowls, plates, teapots, and vases. Each piece strikes the perfect balance of functionality and timeless beauty at an accessible price." - Lynn Wrigley

Notes on Teapots

For the last four or so years I have been diligently pursuing the teapot as a functional piece. I have several of my own that work for various purposes now. One hung up as a planter because it never poured correctly, and another two, one of the first that did a halfway decent job at pouring, and another attempted top handle made of willow saplings and way too much twine. I’ll be adding one more much smaller one to my forms-to-analyze soon that has already developed a small, inconsequential crack along its bottom.

Let me tell you that teapots are so hard, and although I have been making work for around 15 years now I still am struggling with a consistent result. The process of marrying forms I enjoy and the various components of function is challenging. The most mind-numbing being the spout of all is the spout. A lot of what I have learned comes from examining other teapots. I particularly revel in watching Yixing crafters from China make their work, not because of its absolute precision (a feat I never wish to achieve, aside from it happening accidentally), but the way they pour so fluidly. Perhaps that precision is what makes them have exquisite ‘laminar flow’, but I think there are basic principles aside from the fact that continue to empower me and drive me to improve.

Fairly recently, someone said that Americans, or westerners in general, should abandon making teapots altogether, as they will never compare to the work of Chinese, Korean, and Japanese teapots, among others. I took this to heart and embarked on a journey not to replicate, but to create teapots that do pour well, that function effectively, that are pleasing to the eye. I wanted to make work that performed a necessary function in a tea drinker's home most of all, so I began sort of hobbling together a relatively simple set of forms that have slowly developed over the years.

I always bend my spouts, sharpen the edges, make sure they are level with the rim, have them on occasion, flow down, on others not as much. I drill very small holes in the body of the teapot in order to filter out most teas, something you will see in Yixing teapots, and others. I have not yet built a cage to insert along the inside (for a filter), something I find both daunting, and less intuitive than simple perforations, but my teapots can occasionally slow the flow of tea from the leaves getting jammed up in the holes. I don’t glaze the inside mostly because it can clog the filters when done, rendering the teapot useless. The result is a slightly rough inside that collects tannins over time. A lot of people dislike this, but I don’t mind the dark color that develops on the inside. The patina shows use, one that I take pride in.

Even after many years, I still have plenty of teapots that don’t pour exceptionally. In fact, most have at least one drip that comes from them. It drives me crazy to understand what I did wrong! It can be difficult to test the teapots beforehand as well, because part of the flow rate is achieved through a smooth, finished surface. Something you don’t necessarily get on an unfinished pot. The teapot that dribbles before it is fired may pour well when finished. Sometimes, my most ugly teapots are the ones that pour the best.

There are, though, some little tricks that I ignore. I have a tendency to make the spout extra short, because I don’t like protrusions in general from the main form. They can be separate from the overall form as well, preventing smooth flow through the spout. On occasion I don’t do a very good job of cleaning up the inside of the spout, and this can cause it to swirl around too much inside and muddy up the flow out of the lip. I can have a less than ideal lip on the spout. Sometimes I make them too low so water can pour from the opening if poured too fast or filled to high. Most of these issues are because I am afraid of taking more considerable risks, that if done correctly may help me understand the more delicate intricacies of the form. If done incorrectly, they may result in failed experiments that will end up in a bucket of shards.

So I will attempt for my next round of work to do a little more. I’ll depend upon the form to dictate the angle of my spout, in general tilting it much further up than I have in the past. Perhaps I will cut the rim of the spout fully parallel to the table, something I see a great deal of in cast iron teapots that pour well. Making a dimple in the side of the main form to create a more subtle ‘cage’ to prevent clogging would help the flow, but requires a commitment to the placement of the spout. I may even project my spout higher than the opening of the teapot, to see if the flow alone will ‘shoot’ the water from the spout because of the flow rate.

Overall, teapots can be difficult for the main reason of necessity. Not a lot of people buy teapots in the U.S. so making a great deal of them is difficult to justify. I’ve gotten good enough to feel comfortable selling the teapots I do make, and because they are not perfect, I sell them for a lower price than most that are handmade. If there was a higher demand, I would be able to make more and improve faster, but I simply do not have the time to make teapots over and over again to simply throw out, or sit on the shelf for years.

Teapots, for me, or something to constantly strive towards in terms of quality and form. Most other things I make I haven’t exactly mastered, but they are easily produced and generally serve their purpose fairly easily, all with varying aesthetics. The elusive nature of a teapots function is an exploration in patience, technique, physics, and aesthetic. I find that to be a very precious process for me. At times it can be difficult, but by and large teapots keep pottery interesting for me.

Notes on Wadding

"Wadding" is a technique most experienced potters know about, but I am always learning something new - even though it seems like one of the most basic parts of the process. It is used to prop up pottery in atmospheric firings like soda, salt, and wood firing so they do not stick to the shelves.

I've used a variety of recipes over the years that have advantages and disadvantages depending upon their application. In the past I have found the use of wadding as mostly utilitarian, but recently I have been interested in both the aesthetic and economical aspects of the process. Here are some recipes and comments below.

Traditional Soda/Salt:

50% EPK
50% alumina hydrate
Pros: extremely resistant to soda or salt and is easily removed.
Cons: Can leave white marks on pottery, difficult to shape, and is expensive.

Wood/Soda:

50% fireclay (white) or Newman red
50% 40 mesh or larger pure silica sand
Pros: forms easily, inexpensive, leaves subtle marks. Grinding can create more varied texture and colors depending upon where you stop.
Cons: Can be difficult to remove wads post firing.

Wood Patties:

Rice Hulls (high in alumina) soaked in water. Mixed with Fireclay until malleable. Pressed into 2cm patties of various sizes
Pros: Easy to load, leaves no white marks.
Cons: difficult to clean shelves due to ash melting into empty spaces the rice hulls left. Can be difficult to form and remain intact.

Shells or Limestone:

I have used both sea shells, oyster shells, and limestone to place pots directly on or nestled into for wood firing and soda firing.

Pros: Great use of naturally occurring materials, resists soda or wood ash well, and can leave interesting markings and flash points.

Cons: Less straightforward to load, pots can move easily in the kiln, and markings can be difficult to clean up.

Canvas Rebel Interview 2022

Meet Joseph Miranda

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Joseph Miranda. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Joseph below.

Joseph, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you feel you or your work has ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized? If so, tell us the story and how/why it happened and if there are any interesting learnings or insights you took from the experience?

I think there are a great deal of nuances with feeling as if ones work is misunderstood or mischaracterized. It is easy for other poeple to see different things in what I make and express their own feelings, interpretations, or attitudes about my work that I don’t particularly resonate with. That does not mean they are less valid though. As a potter one of my main concerns is making functional work that is relevant to people today, so feedback and opinions from anyone is important to me. I don’t necessarily believe experts in the field of pottery are the only ones worth considering as important either, and the common person’s opinion is a valid as other professionals. With that being said I have often been told something about my work that suprised me. Just the other day I was approached by a woman who loved a vase I had made. As a antique dealer, it reminded her of the French jugs she would find for resale. She was surprised to find something that matched her aesthetic and I was also surprised to learn that the form and style I was creating was reminiscent of those shapes.

I rarely consider my work to be ‘misunderstood’ because I usually find it to be a positive experience that both parties get to learn from. There is one aspect of my own work that people often do not approve of though. Most pottery or ceramic art is signed, but I do not mark my work with any form of stamp or signature. For the most part I don’t want people to collect my work or cherish it so much as to not use it, so I forgo the signature so as to disuade buyers from valueing my pieces to a greater degree than I do. I also believe in the folk pottery tradition, which is similar to any folk art or craft in that it is made for the poeple and by the poeple, without any particular namesake or individidual identity that seperates it from the collective. Although I make unique objects, I would prefer they remain and be born from a collective identity that we all share. Not many people understand this concept or value it because it is unorthodox, especially within the craft as an art realm. This bothers me a great deal because it is very hard to have a conversation with someone who values individualism and ‘art’ as one and the same. They suddenly see me as unworthy of their time, and the discussion ends there.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I create functional pottery for peoples homes. I began throwing pottery in high school and decided to make it my goal to become a pottery and make a living doing it. Twelve years later I am still making work as I have explored numerous techniques and aesthetics, worked for many different pottery outfits, and challenged myself in a variety of personal and professional ways within the field of ceramics and otherwise. I make my own work under the assumption that it is folk pottery and that I strive towards making sustainable and authentic products that people can afford. I love working for other potters as well. Making their forms and learning their aesthetics is an important part of the process of learning for me, and there is always more to learn. I also do a significant level of commissions currently. Commission work takes me out of my comfort zone most of the time and I get to explore processes and styles I would not normally elect to do. Not many potters do commissions so I am filling a niche market, which is lucrative and challenging at the same time. I am most proud of my accomplishments with the way I think about ceramics and pottery today. I used to want to build a large production pottery business, but because I’ve had some really hectic experiences constantly trying to grow as a business, and through my experiences in Americorp, I have learned the importance of taking care of ones self and remaining small. It is easy to get caught up in the constant machine that is capitalism, and I have to make the choice every day to avoid the stress of constantly creating for others. I am proud to say I have come a long way in the mindset I have around being a creative, and although I have a lot of work to do in order to subvert what I think are real problems in our society while still doing what I love, I think am moving in the right direction. I want to create pottery that is valued for the energy that was put into making it. A sustainable, durable, and equitable form of creation that does not disenfranchise the environment or other people.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

They can buy our work and/or support our process either monitarily or through providing affordable spaces and equipment. I have noticed that many non-profit art organizations or institutions do not actually provide meaningful benefits for artists when they claim to be supporting the arts. Much of what art and craft is drives our culture, and the economics of creation can inevitiably cause creatives and poeple in general to be co-opted by outside interest groups to gentrify neighboorhoods, be appropriative of cultures, and cause artists to lose the will to be artists. Obviously this a longer conversation that has a great deal of nuances I will not get into in this paragraph, but in my opinion artists and crafters get the short end of the stick.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I am unlearning the white colonial mindset I live in as a person and an artist. I am unlearning the patriarchal system of control I am a part of and the capitalistic mindset that is the overriding narrative for all artists and crafters. We are trying to make a living doing what we have to do to survive as a human being, and that doesn't have to involve the wealthy elite or endangering the planet and other poeple. The backstory to these goals is a long one road that continues forward. I am always learning new things through my experiences, and challenging my past actions and thoughts with a critical eye brought to me by honest poeple.