The process of blackening pottery as a method of decorating the surface goes back thousands of years. Smoke firing, is one of those methods of blackening that has become popular with contemporary ceramics enthusiast because it requires very little equipment and can give spectacular results.



Mary Donahue is a ceramics artist who uses smoke firing as a method for decorating and finishing her work. This visual diary takes you, step-by-step, through her smoke firing process and explains in detail how she “paints with smoke” on her ceramics using resists.