Mud in the Blood: Wood-Firing Potters Carry the Torch in Rural Western North Carolina

These days, many pottery kilns can be fired with just the push of a button. But Josh Copus prefers a different method. For 72 hours, Copus and a team of potters from around the country worked together to fire a three-chamber wood kiln in the hills of western North Carolina. This pre-industrial method helps the artists ‘connect to the root of the craft’ and achieve unique surfaces on their pots. But it’s also an opportunity for connection, collaboration, and community building.