Nakamagama

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The New Hampshire Potters Guild Nakamagama, which means Community Kiln in Japanese, was designed by Belinda Bodnar and Eric Maglio and built by members of the Guild. It sits on a beautiful 171-acre tree farm about 26 miles inland from Portsmouth and the seacoast. The land is protected under Bear-Paw Regional Greenways Land Trust, with the provision that the NH Potters Guild has use forever of its kiln and appropriate surrounding land for wood preparation, storage, parking, and an outhouse.
Replacing an older wood kiln that had worn out, Nakamagama was built in the summer of 2024 by an enthusiastic, collaborative, and hard-working crew led by Belinda Bodnar and Eric Maglio. Nakamagama combines a 90-cubic-foot anagama-style chamber and a 30-cubic foot catenary arch chamber. The finished kiln is 27' long with a rise of 9' from the lowest fire ports to the base of the chimney. The two chambers can be fired together or separately.
The first firing took place in September 2024. Twenty-eight potters loaded and fired both chambers over four days, using four to five cords of pine and oak slabs. After a week of cooling, the potters unloaded 876 mostly spectacular pots and sculpture.
The NH Potters Guild continues to honor its roots in fellowship, collaboration and encouragement while celebrating the art of wood firing in this unique and cherished place.
See the build on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8gu6cxdwKs