How Its Made
Everything in my shop has been carefully handmade so that you can enjoy one of the most simple and ordinary human pleasures - dining. There's many modern ways to manufacture ceramics, but pottery has changed very little in materials and process throughout the centuries. My shop is not here to manufacture and mass produce but instead provide table wear that caters directly to each of my customers. I'm passionate about slow living. For me it isn't just about the function of a plate or mug but the meaning behind it and the work that went into making that piece.
The process begins with the raw clay. The two clay bodies I work with are a white porcelain clay and a stiffer red clay with manganese. I cut and weigh all my clay before I begin at the wheel. Throwing is the most spontaneous and dynamic way for me to capture the form of whatever I am making and often a meditative act. After a piece is thrown I leave it to dry until leather hard, when I can begin trimming a foot. The piece is left to air dry for about a week after trimming and then loaded into my kiln for its first firing.
The bisque firing cycle of my kiln reaches about 1950 degrees, changing the clay from brittle to a hard porous texture to ensure maximum glaze absorption. The bisque firing cycle typically takes about 12 hours. Heating the clay too fast it will make it explode, which is why this firing takes longer than the glaze firing. After the bisque firing, each piece is then waxed and dipped into glaze. When I have accumulated enough glazeware to fill my kiln, the final firing begins. The second glaze firing reaches 2320 degrees, making all of my pieces dishwasher, oven, and microwave safe. I've been collecting and testing my palette of glazes for a few years and will continue testing to create unique collections for years to come.
My manual skutt kiln and my adorable dog Olive. When I run my kiln I have to set hourly alarms to come out and turn the 3 temperature regulating knobs on the side panel.
Loading my kiln for a bisque firing. The "film" water goes off as does the organic carbonaceous matter in clay. The slowest part of the bisque should go on until 392 degrees, when the chemically combined water goes out and a new ceramic material is formed.
The wheel where I throw my pieces with some recent trimmings.
Top shelf: Pieces that have been fired once (Bisqueware)
Middle and bottom shelves: Pieces drying for first firing
To the left are the plugs which I use during firing.
To the right are various levels of kiln stilts that I use for holding up my shelves during firing.
Various tools used for making my pieces. A roller for rolling out slabs for my earrings, a wooden tool that I use for shaping and carving excess clay, and a needle tool for detail work and sculpting.
The control panel on my kiln, showing the dials on the side that I use to regulate temperature. In the front center you can see the trigger, which holds a cone that melts at the correct firing temperature inside the kiln, causing the pin to drop and my kiln to turn off when the cycle is finished.
Another photograph of my wheel and my throwing space which faces a large west facing window.
All of my ceramics are made with two different kinds of clay- a white porcelain clay and a red clay with manganese.
Trimming swirls.
My Clients
Silk and Willow
