Nestled on the bank of the Econalacahatchee River, just east of Orlando Florida, amid the pine trees and the mosquitoes, labor a group of artists with a vision. Comprised mostly of students and led by their professor, the group has sculpted, shovelled and sweated its way to perfect a tedious, challenging and unpredictable form of ceramic art.

Since the mid-1960s, anagama firing has undergone a rebirth. Professor Hadi Ali Abbas, of the University of Central Florida, attributes this resurgence to the joy of the craft. "The experience of a modern kiln cannot compete with the excitement of a woodfired kiln. It matches neither the thrill nor the mystique of the woodfiring process and its unpredictability."

Indeed, while potters needing to mass produce ceramic wares were all too eager to embrace more efficient methods, ceramic artists have unearthed and ressurected the more time comsuming, labor intensive and unpredictable woodfiring kiln...

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