Ross Bryant

Ross was raised in Cropwell, Alabama and has retired from teaching Art in Anderson, South Carolina.

He has moved to Talladega and set up a studio here. The work he produces is bisque fired in Talladega, and then fired with the work of a dozen other potters in the Anagama kiln in Sandy Springs, South Carolina. That kiln is fired 3 times a year and potters have a limited space to use in each firing.

His pottery is thrown on a kick wheel and hand built pottery, fired in a wood fired Anagama kiln for 3 days. The clay and the ash play with the glaze in the heat of over 2400 degrees.

In this kiln, the fire is started with dry hardwood that produces a large coal and ash bed in the front of the kiln. As the kiln gets hotter, the wood is changed to dry pine that burns hotter and causes a flame that brings the ash throughout the kiln. The minerals in the glaze melt and the glaze absorbs the ash that is drawn through the kiln.

This creates unique effects on the glaze and on the areas of raw clay in the pottery. At the back of the kiln where the temperature is not quiet as hot, salt is added to the kiln to add color and texture to the pottery. The pieces are dishwasher & food safe.