ABOUT

Process

Every piece of pottery starts with a lump of clay.  

After cutting and wedging, the lump is either  thrown on the wheel or rolled into clay slabs for hand-building.  A vessel is formed, set to dry to leather hard and then trimmed and finished with handles or feet.  At this point a layer of colored clay slip may be painted onto the surface through which a design will be carved onto the piece.  My work is often embellished with sculptural elements, carving, and slip-trailing.  The piece is set to dry completely, then fired to bisque temperature.  Glazes are sprayed, dipped or poured, and the piece is fired again for a final time.  In some cases a piece may be reworked or more details added and then fired a third time.  All of my work is hand made, and all designs, including sculptural, are created free-hand. No molds or patterns are used. Every piece is "one of a kind" and could never be reproduced exactly.  Many of my larger pieces may take up to two months to complete.

I use both stoneware and porcelain and fire at cones 6 to 10 in both oxidation and reduction, and participate in a local wood firing a couple times a year.  Most of my glazes are made here in the studio and all are lead-free.  

Each piece is made individually entirely by hand, and so no two pieces will ever be "exactly" alike. I make every effort to match pieces in a set as closely as possible, but the variations in form and finish are actually what give the work charm and value as "handmade" art.