My Process

“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”

- Pablo Picasso

Step 1: Prep the clay for the wheel.

Either weigh and pat into a ball or weigh, wedge, and pat into ball.

Step 2: Throwing the pot - Center the ball of clay.

Getting the clay in the middle of the wheel and homogenized so that it’s easier to work with.

Step 3: Throwing the pot - Open the ball of clay.

Depending on what I’m making, I might keep the walls in more of a V or open it flatter out.

Step 4: Throwing the pot - Raise the walls.

Using the padding of my right pointer finger and my middle finger of my left hand, I press together displacing the clay upwards.

Step 5: Throwing the pot - Shape the piece.

First, I cut the skirt to remove extra clay from the foot of the vessel so I can see the profile more clearly. Then, I belly out mugs and bowls or angle out the sides.

Step 6: Throwing the pot - Remove the slip and water.

Removing the extra slip from the outside of the piece and water from the inside bottom helps it dry more evenly and allows me to pick it up to remove it from the wheel.

Step 7: Carving/surface decoration.

At this stage I can carve designs into the sides and add some underglazes to the pot. This allows me more control over some of the results later in the glazing process. This is when I add my maker’s mark.

Step 8: Bisquing.

After the pot completely dries out, it goes into the kiln for the first firing to “bisque.”

Step 9: Glazing.

This is the stage where I choose the color and type of glaze I want to pull off the design vision I have for the piece. Sometimes this involves simply dipping into a bucket and wiping the foot. On more complex pieces, it may involve brushing stain on and wiping back, applying wax to protect certain parts, brushing glaze on, and dipping multiple times.

Before Glaze firing.

After Glaze firing.

Step 8: Polishing.

During the quality control step, I sand the bottoms of the pots using a diamond hand pad so that no nubbies remain to scratch furniture or hurt hands.