The Making
Clay will always have the last word
There is something special about being a potter. Perhaps it is the idea that you are participating in one of man’s oldest innovations or simply the satisfaction of creating something that has the ability to last lifetimes.
Creating purposeful and well-designed functional-ware is my passion. The challenge of creating a vessel both aesthetically pleasing and practical, is enormously enjoyable. I have a preference for throwing with stoneware clay and firing under reduction to almost 1300 degrees celsius.
The process of turning and manipulating a lump of a raw plastic clay into a beautiful vitrified vessel takes time, patience and skill. The medium cannot be rushed or forced. It must be willing to alter. It must be encouraged and coerced. The preparation commences with ensuring the clay is both air free and evenly moist. To achieve this, I will hand wedge the clay for a period until I feel it is ready. The wedging gently coerces the clay into moving freely by repeatedly stretching it in one direction. The same direction is continued during the making on the wheel.
After forming and refining the shape, the piece is allowed to sit undisturbed under strictly controlled conditions ensuring even drying. This can be the most stressful time for the clay as the water molecules separating the thin clay sheets disperse creating shrinkage and stress on any edges and joins. Sometimes drying time can seem like a lifetime when you have something that “little extra special” you just can’t wait to see fired and glazed.
I try to pack both bisque and glaze firings as tightly as possible. Besides the fact that it costs the same to fire the empty space surrounding the vessel as the vessel itself, evenly packed kilns heat more efficiently and, importantly for my reduction glaze firings, the results are more predictable. Both firings take time. My glaze firing takes a whole day. Adjusting and readjusting the air and gas relationship during the process demands constant vigilance. I prefer to light my kiln in the wee hours of the morning; the day tends to be a long one.
Imagining and weighing the possibilities of glaze combinations on the different clays makes glazing a thoughtful activity. I like to record as much of this process as possible including the placement of the pieces in the kiln. This can assist in the duplication of the final results.
Regardless of my confidence level during the glaze firing, it is always exciting, cracking open the finished firing. A whole range of emotions can be experienced, from the extreme pleasure of revealing a new and unpredicted glaze effect to the disappointment of a failure where the clay has had the last word. 😱
Perhaps it is simply the challenge that is special.