VOLUNTEERS are needed to feed a fiery Japanese dragon in Wytham Woods.

Researchers from Oxford University are involved in a project to fire up a Japanese potters’ kiln, which promises to produce the fiery flames of a dragon.

The university is calling for the people of Oxfordshire to help fire the kiln tomorrow at 10am.

Project leader Dr Robin Wilson said: “This is a great opportunity for artists, potters and people who are just generally interested in getting involved to experience this community event of baking stoneware pottery.

“This is a major project involving researchers from different disciplines across the university and will result in a series of exhibitions and talks that will be open to the public later this year.”

The kiln is styled in the design of an anagama kiln, meaning cave kiln, a wood-fuelled type that has been used in Japan and Korea for hundreds of years.

According to Dr Wilson, the art lies in baking the pots inside at about 1,150C and holding that constant heat for about five days around the clock.

Before the kiln can be fired up, however, the researchers need members of the public to volunteer to help stoke the fires for a few hours each as part of a rota.

Dr Wilson said: “It will be a social experience as well as an educational one, sitting around the kiln poking the fire through the stoking holes just as the Japanese and Korean communities did.”

Dr Wilson explained that that the beauty of the anagama kiln lies in its great variation in colour and texture.

She said: “A sort of alchemy happens inside the kiln due to the interaction of the flames, the ash, and the minerals in the clay.

“Every piece comes out looking unique.”

The patron of the project is 80-year-old Isezaki Jun, who is designated the Living National Treasure of Bizen by the Japanese Government.

His former apprentice, Kazuya Ishida, who has produced many of the pots for the project, will be at the first firing and is the chief kiln loader. He has the job of crawling through the very small kiln entrance to stack up the pots before the fires are lit.

A larger kiln made of bricks is also being constructed by a professional kiln-building team who have been sent from Bizen by Iseaki Jun.

* People who want to volunteer can visit the project website at oxfordanagama.org/