“Ceramics require a fire that begins gently and then rises to an inferno of red heat, at minimum, and yellow or close to blazing white heat at optimum. If you look inside the fire as it reaches temperature—and potters have done just this for thousands of years—you will see the pots or sculptures luminously glowing first red, then bright yellow in the swirling gaseous flames. It is a blinding, awe-inspiring sight, and it is fraught with dangers for the ware—and sometimes for the person attending the fire.”

—Suzanne Stauback, from Clay: The History and Evolution of Humankind’s Relationship with Earth’s Most Primal Element, 2005.