cochise college pit fire party – 2011 7 comments
I’m doing some catching up on posts that I meant to put together over a month ago. One of the reasons that I arrived in Bisbee a little earlier than usual this season, was to attend the fifth annual Cochise College Pit Fire Party on November 10, 2011. A pit fire is a method of firing ceramics in outdoor pits. Bisque fired pottery with glaze applied, are arranged in the bottom of a large pit, then covered over with flammable materials such as paper and wood – everything from sticks, to wooden pallets. This year’s firing pit was about 185 feet long and 4 feet wide and serpentine in shape. You can see the unlit materials above the pit in the above photo (click on all photos for larger views). The fire becomes quite large and extremely hot, so firefighters were in attendance for the entire evening.
A number of activities took place throughout the evening — there was a marquis tent where you could get free soup or chili to fill the ceramic bowls which were given to each visitor who paid five dollars to become a Friend of the Cochise College Art Department. Several local bands provided musical entertainment, and Flam Chen entertained with fire dancers and acrobats. Around dusk, members of the Cochise College rodeo team cantered up to the pit and circling around a couple of times, threw flaming brands onto the combustible materials to set them alight.
Once lit, the fire grew immense in short order. As the fire burnt its way along the length of the pit, the heat given off was quite extraordinary.
Pyrotechnic acrobats and dancers of the Flam Chen performing troupe, entertained those gathered to watch the progress of the fire.
Later in the evening, the acrobats led visitors to the stage area where they performed for awhile before handing over the stage to the musicians.
A large ceramic sculpture was fired inside of an interesting sawdust-fired kiln that was set up and tended by W. Lowell Baker, Professor of Art, at the University of Alabama (see below). I stood watching how the fire was supplied with sawdust. Quite fascinating. The heat generated by this kiln was pretty awesome. I didn’t stay all evening, but did put in a couple of successful bids in the silent auction fundraiser. Next post, I’ll put up some photos of the pieces I brought home from the evening event.
7 Responses to 'cochise college pit fire party – 2011'
Subscribe to comments with RSS or TrackBack to 'cochise college pit fire party – 2011'.
-
maybe we should place a green pot or sculpture at the base of each solstice fire
-
That was very interesting. I know so little about that part of Arizona but it has always looked like it had a lot of creative energy. Your posts certainly affirm that.
-
~ pyrotechnic acrobats ~ that would be a cool name for a band. 🙂
-
that was certainly worth going early! thanks for the pics. very impressive event.
-
John – It was a lot of fun. It’s very well attended, which is nice to see.
–
fred – I’m actually surprised no one in the Ottawa area seems to be doing community pit firing parties. Might be a fun thing to add to the solstice fire.
–
Rain – There is a very strong creative thing happening here in this part of southeast Arizona. Very inspiring and motivating.
–
megan – ha! Yes, you’re right! (-:
–
roger – I’m very glad I came down early and hope to do so for similar reasons next season! -
Perhaps the control-freak mentality is too dominant in eastern Ontario to allow putting of ceramics in an uncontrolled pile of fire
This looks like it was a spectacular evening. I look forward to seeing the results of your successful bids!