The Process
Every piece that leaves my studio has undergone a journey with many steps. It takes knowledge, craftsmanship, and devotion to transform a piece of clay into a finished work of art. The clay is first kneaded - called wedging in pottery - until it is perfectly homogeneous, then taken to the wheel, where centrifugal force and my hands coax it into its first silhouette.
The piece then rests, slowly losing moisture until it is ready for the next step: trimming. Trimming returns it to the wheel, where fine ribbons of clay are cut away and the form’s true lines begin to show. With some pieces, I add more clay onto the freshly trimmed form, or I pull the existing rims into new, organic contours that feel grown more than made.
The piece then dries very slowly - too fast and the clay can crack or warp out of shape, and all that work is lost. Once bone-dry, it is loaded into the kiln for the first of two firings. This bisque firing rises gradually to 950 °C, tempering the clay with its first strength.
Next comes glazing. Ceramic glazes are mixtures of minerals, oxides, and other components taken from the earth, they are powders athat are mixed with water to form a glaze. When glazed, the porous body of the piece pulls in the water, leaving a fine skin of minerals across the surface. It is then loaded into the kiln for its second, hotter firing - this time up to 1,240 °C - where heat wakes the minerals and turns powder to glass.
At every step, risk shadows the process and can destroy the piece before it is finished. It’s that risk that makes each finished piece all the more special. Only after all of these steps is it finally finished, alive with texture and lustre, and ready to take pride of place wherever it may find a home.
