The Fire Within

Fire fascinates me. That anything burning can create both heat and random patterns of beauty must have led our distant ancestors to near-worship of fire. I burn wood to heat my home. I once wood-fired pottery to white-hot temperatures in a down-draft kiln, gazing through the ports as the glaze shimmered.
Now, I continue my fascination as I fire up the wood-fired brick ovens I build.
It can be fairly said that we humans have not psychically changed much in a million years. We seek the warmth of other creatures, are drawn to the sound of water, cringe at nearby lightening, stand in awe beneath a star-dusted sky, and gaze reflectively into the flames of a wood fire.
No doubt, this is why wood-fired brick ovens hold a magic beyond the fantastic food that we can cook in them.
Although the tradition of brick ovens goes back some thousands of years, it is the draw of the flame that provides the primitive backdrop to our brick oven experience.