pottery process...from lump to sweet dish! 

left hand pushes away at 7 o'clock,
right hand pulls in at 1 o'clock...
both through the center

going up...

going down...
centering video

The hands know when clay is centered

and the time is ripe for one to support
and one to open

They know from either side of the wall
when to close the distance between them

and tender the mud its almost final forming

- Mary Jo Moore

we start throwing by
opening up the middle

pushing down to compress the bottom...or it will crack when drying
video of steps from this row

finger tips to finger tips
to pull up the walls
video of throwing a triangular shape

compressing the rim now and then
to let it know who's in charge;
this picture shows final work on the rim... using a cloth to smooth, compress, and shape the rim... video

sponging off
video

ribbing to smooth and
remove sponge lines

marking the bottom...
the place for the wire to go
when we cut it off
video of cutting off the hump with string

with dry hands...
lifting the pot off the wheel
so you can do another one!

more advanced work:
making a gallery for a lid
video of a fun and simple
decoration process and ribbing

bats are needed...
put one up-side-down piece
on another, throwing the most
clay we can for each one

after smoothing the two together,
cut off and remove the top bat,
throwing the two into one
bigger piece

after being turned over,
coils were added, thrown onto
the rest to close the top more
(see altering and glazing
to see how it progessed towards
a lamp base)

my teacher at Snow Farm torching
my first large item attempt (vase)
to harden the clay faster

see the large vase I made!
scary to lift it off while wet!

other large things I made
while trying to make the
large lamp base

drying on and off the wheel,
shrinkage happens now
and during each firing!
(see poem by a friend, below)

bone dry greenware
ready to be bisque fired
a kiln needs to be full to be fired efficiently... pots accummulate
while waiting for this

bisqueware, ready to be glazed

waiting for inspiration and time

Fat Pot

If you go to pottery school
your instructor won't tell you the following, you'll find it out for yourself:

a pot drying on the wheel will always shrink.

You may be proud of how large a pot
you've finally thrown...and go to bed sure you've had your breakthrough and maybe you have...
but in the morning that large fat pot you thought so magnificent will have shrunk to average.
Even so, you call it Fat Pot for the rest of its life.

Just because you've never called a poem Fat Poem doesn't mean fat isn't a good thing

in a poem...once in a while...maybe.

- Mary Jo Moore
I put this poem on a fat pot for Mary Jo. Her poems show she gets it!

line marking

carving

sponging off after shellac is applied
and dries, shellac is not water-based
so it stays raised while the
uncovered clay washes away,
leaving grog texture

reshaping and assembling
pieces started on the wheel...
pods!

more pods!...
carving parts of these 2 sets

using extra handles as holders
for bisque-fired carved pods,
the 3 handles were attached
and fired separately before
glazing together

glaze test tubes, with unfired glaze
these tubes allow us to see how
the glazes look on light and brown
clay, layered, on texture and
smooth, over a rim, and much more

tubes after fired

see how they changed?

before glazed...

see below for after

before glazed...see right for after

for the gecho (and the face in the
other example), black oxide with
water was painted over the
unfired glaze

after glazed...

big change, right?

after glazed...
see above for before

another surprising change

electric, oxidation firing

see glowing red peep holes?

the dark background is the side of
the kiln in the dark, the lighter detail
is from the top of the kiln, this is a
vent hole, air is pulled through the
kiln and is vented outside

pots after being bisque fired,
picture taken while unloading

cone 06 fires at 1791°F for 7.5 hours
it needs to cool for 20-22 hours

the kiln is loaded from the bottom up,
stacking shelves on stilts to fit the
needs of each load, pots CAN stack
and touch during this firing

pots after being glaze fired

cone 6 fires at 2171°F for 8.5 hours
it needs to cool for 20-22 hours

see the witness cones bent over at
the bottom of each picture? those
show how close to the desired
temperature the firing did,
pots CAN'T touch during this firing

pomegranate in fruity herbal tea
in my new favorite mug
with nice "drinking lip"

fairtrade organic coffee with cream
in my husband's favorite mug

homemade vegetarian soup in
bowl inspired by beet soup

fruit, veggie, and nut smoothie to
drink or eat with a spoon,
how healthy!

handmade local soap on a soap
rest in an open bowl, the soup rest
keeps the soap drier

a loving gift from a wife
(a heart reminder stone) found in
a browser's pocket (at a sale) with
other treasures and change

a business card holder,
a custom order by a
purple-loving therapist

pods!
bud vase or plant holder

floral vase,
engagement gift being put to
celebratory use, Happy New Year!

cooking utensil holder
matches the wall tiles by chance!

Olga, a student, made this planter
(and others) with ventilation holes,
and beaded it, as a healthy home
for her orchids

Tonya, a student, made these
buildings, and many more,
to decorate her many planters

centering (1:30 min)

opening and throwing (2 min)

sponging off (8 sec)

making lines on sides
shaping with rib (1:20 min)

shaping rim (30 sec)

cutting off hump with string (16 sec)

video of throwing
a triangular mug shape (35 sec)

"I love pottery" (12 sec)
(this video was not above on this page;
the same as one on the shows page)

back to Private Lessons page
see Debra's pottery
see student work

Contact me if you have any questions, want more explanation...etc. Comments are welcome.