The Process

My goal as a potter is to make the versatile, functional pots that I find myself wanting to use and hold every day. My aesthetic vision is rooted in the hues/textures/feels of landscapes that attract my curiosity, and all forms of utilitarian folk art- especially from the Shakers, Scandinavia, and Japan. I hope to create vessels that stir up emotions open to personal interpretation without my own literal symbolism of said places/things that inspire me. Perhaps…expressionism in pottery.

I have been throwing for about 16 years now and never tire of this nourishing (AND laborious) practice. The term “throwing” refers to the act of throwing a lump of clay onto the wheelhead so it will stick. When I first began, I was hooked by how centering each piece of clay acted as a mirror into what was happening in my inner climate- a sort of therapy and mindfulness practice. When my body and mind are relaxed, as does the ease of forming a vessel…and in contrast if I am tense and not present, it leads to fighting with the clay.

In this way, being a potter becomes a dance between the internal and external worlds to bring each vessel to life.

After the pieces have had a few days to dry (slowly, while covered) and reach a “leather-hard” state, they are trimmed. With the piece flipped over on the wheelhead, trimming tools are used to remove excess clay and add form to the bottom of the piece. Trimming a pot, to me, is often what makes the vessel come alive. After they are trimmed is also when mug handles are put on.

Drying takes 2-3 days after throwing and then 3-6 days after trimming (slowly lifting off coverings). In order to be fired, the pieces must be bone dry so there is no trapped moisture (which can cause a piece to explode and also ruin the work around it in the kiln). In this stage, pieces are still picked up numerous times to be cleaned and checked for any irregularities in their shape or surface before they are fully dry.

The bisque firing is when the pots first enter the kiln as-is (no glaze) and get fired to about 1900*F. They can only go into the kiln when they are bone dry to reduce the risk of trapped moisture which often causes a piece to explode. Any minor excess moisture from their “greenware” state is evaporated. Once they have been bisqued, which takes about 30 hrs until they are cool enough to unload, the pots will be ready to be glazed and then fired again.

My glazes are all mixed in house by recipes that I have developed over the years to fit my claybody and desired aesthetic (not too shiny, not too matte). Mixing glazes is pretty much just like baking- but with chemicals. It takes a lot of testing and trial and error to not only get the glaze right (in color and finish), but to be sure it fits the claybody correctly. After being glazed, pieces are loaded back into the kiln for their second and final firing. In the glaze firing, pieces reach about 2232*F. It takes about 40 hrs from when the firing starts until it is cool enough to unload.

Then they are packed up using plastic-free packaging and sent to their new homes! Packing materials are sourced from small businesses, rather than problematic companies like U-Line or Amazon.

More about my materials sourcing

I collect broken pieces, slop & water from throwing, trimmings, and any other little bits of clay around the studio into 5 gallon buckets to rehydrate. Once the bucket contents has turned to a slop, I scoop it out on plaster bats to stiffen to the consistency I like, and then be remixed back into workable clay! I use a machine called a pug mill which has a heavy duty motor to churn the clay, a vacuum to de-air the clay and chamber of any air bubbles, and then extrude it out into beautiful logs of clay that are ready to be put back on the wheel. And thus, the process begins all over again...

A deeper dive into how I recycle my clay