Salt Glaze is the original Red Wing method of glazing pottery. These gorgeous pieces are each one of a kind. Due to the inexact science of controlling the salt application, each and every piece is unique.
Our salt glaze kiln is located at our pottery facility on Old West Main Street in Red Wing. It is quite an event to experience a salt glaze firing. Loading the kiln takes a couple days, then the heat is turned on. It takes roughly 30 hours to fire the kiln before the salt can be put in.When it reaches 2350 degrees F, bricks covering small ports are removed from the wall of the kiln and salt is thrown in. The bricks are replaced, and 10 minutes later salt is thrown in again. Finally, after another 10 minutes, the last application of salt is thrown into the kiln. Everyone involved in the process must wear respirators, protective gloves, and masks, as the flames can shoot out of the kiln several feet.
It takes several days for the kiln to cool down, and then the door can be opened and the pottery removed.
The result of this process is a wide range of interesting surface colors and textures. We never know exactly how any item will turn out, so we are only able to offer some of our products online. Please stop by the salesroom on West Main Street in Red Wing to see our complete selection of salt glaze pottery.
Here are some examples of recent work:
