Yuko Jordan could not stop peeking in the small round windows of the 32-foot Anagama kiln during the annual Woodstoke Festival.
Her pottery work had been locked away inside the kiln, located in Navarre, for about three weeks and today she would finally see the result.
“I’m so excited. This is my first time to fire in the Anagama kiln,” Jordan said as she ran to another window.
The Anagama kiln is a part of the Gulf Coast Kiln Walk Society. It is about 32 feet long and used to fire clay so that it hardens. The mouth of the kiln is large enough for a man to stand inside of, and this particular kiln is not gas or electricity powered. Instead it is wood fueled, according to Brenda Stokes who started the society with her husband, Marty, and owns the land the kiln sits on. Since it is fueled by wood, the process takes about a week to reach temperatures of 2,500 degrees and a whole slew of people to man it 24 hours a day.

For more on this story, see the March 3 edition of the Navarre Press or subscribe online.