08/04/2026
Jody Johnstone’s beautiful work in the window for August! We are thrilled!
Anagama-fired Pots
Jody first became interested in pottery when she was in her early twenties, living and working in Japan. Her eyes opened to the world of the handmade object and she began a modest pottery collection. Several years later, at a small community studio in New York City, she took her first pottery class with Louise Harter, who was building a wood kiln for the studio in upstate NY. As part of her building crew. Jody was hooked, and quickly started plotting how to leave her day job. She began looking for an apprenticeship situation and received a very lucky break, with the opportunity for a two year apprenticeship in Japan with Bizen master Isezaki Jun.
Returning to Maine in 1992, Jody built her anagama kiln, and has been firing each May and October for 30 years.
The anagama is fired twice a year, and holds about 800 pots. The loading requires concentration over four long days. The location of each pot must be carefully considered as its placement in the kiln will determine the final look of the pot. The path of the flame, and the way it will interact with the other pots is determined by the loading.
The kiln is stoked with wood twenty-four hours a day by a crew of six to eight for eight days. Each firing takes five to six cords of hardwood. Wood ash is carried through the kiln on the flame, blanketing the pots and melting at top temperature to create the beautiful ashy surfaces.
The kiln cools for one week, and the unloading day is always a highly anticipated event. Each pot is unique, telling its own story of where and how it was fired.
Jody explains her love of the process: “I love the anagama firing for the depth and beauty that it imparts on the pots. But the anagama fills other needs as well — the needs I have to make lots of pots, to stack wood and do other physical, mind-clearing work, and to sit and enjoy a quiet shift with the kiln. I relish the community of potters and firing friends that gather around the kiln twice a year. I enjoy the rhythms of the process and the scale that I work on as it makes me feel connected to the seasons, strong and competent.”
