06/03/2026
Earlier this year I was awarded an arts grant from the Arts Council of the Southern Finger Lakes to build a Rocket Kiln.
I'll be documenting the process of building the kiln here on this page for the near future. And I'll be sharing firing results when I have them.
Some background:
The rocket kiln concept is not my idea. Its been championed by the Lisa Orr and others in the Wood Fired Rocket Kiln Project here on Facebook. They are a great community offering lots of help and guidance. Special thanks to them for all of the information and assistance they give.
Why a rocket kiln?
Rocket kilns provide an accessible way for artists to build a kiln that is relatively affordable, easy to build and maintain and does not rely on expensive or complex technology like gas/electric setups. It can be built almost anywhere.
Rocket refers to the design of the heating system, based on the rocket stove used for home heating. Because it's efficient it can also fire faster than other wood fueled kilns. But the term rocket does not necessarily mean it'll fire fast. Often the objective isn't to fire fast, its to reach temperature in a systematic controlalbe way.
Sustainable firing - Traditional wood firing is very smokey, inefficient and uses lots of wood. The rocket kiln design is very efficient and mostly smokeless. Fuel is easily found and the efficiency means that it uses much less fuel than traditional wood fired kilns.
Goals:
I'll be building the kiln this summer. I hope to be firing in the next few weeks. Once I've set up the kiln I'll be involving local artists and Elmira College Students in firing projects to use the kiln.
We are hoping to have a show this fall at the student gallery at the college.
This has been an interest of mine for several years and i've been collecting supplies and wood scrap for fuel. I'll be documenting my journey here.
