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The wood fired and salt glazed finishes are
durable, long lasting and dish-
washer safe. Our pottery is hand made and wheel thrown, made from stoneware and
porcelain clay.
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The Pottery
I make wood fired stoneware pottery. All my pots are functional though I do
make some pieces that are prettier to look at while other pieces are more rewarding to
use. All my pottery is hand made. I make everything on a Leach or treadle style wheel. I like to throw pots on
the wheel and then alter them, using a knife to cut facets or a paddle to change the form.
I love to decorate or paint on the pottery too. In the studio I spend my time getting the
pots ready to be fired. I try and make forms and decorations that will complement or in
turn be complemented by firing them in the wood kiln. The process of
firing our kiln with wood is exhilarating. The fire makes the kiln come alive -- but
trying to control something that has a life of its own is intensely challenging. The fire
reaches temperatures up to 2,300 degrees Fahrenheit and must be fed for 24 hours. A flame
sometimes as long as 40' long flows through the kiln like a river overflowing its banks.
None of the pottery is spared by the fire or by the ash and salt that are carried along
with it. Each piece of pottery that comes out of the kiln has its own story to tell. Even
two pots, practically identical and put in the kiln side by side, will be completely
different from each other once fired. The first pots that I unloaded from the wood kiln
were magical for me. What came out of the kiln was so much better then what I had put in;
my simple, even "crude," pots had been transformed. Ten years later, I still get
the same thrill unloading the kiln. Not only are no two pieces the same, but also through
the magic of the kiln and the fire, the pottery is alive. |
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