A large and suitably deep bowl is thrown on the kick-wheel, making sure it has a good strong rim both to function well and to support its weight as it will be fired upside down. When leather-hard the pot is turned and the foot ring and rim are waxed. Also at this stage a sgraffito and stamped pattern is applied, taking care to allow for the sieve holes to be made later.

Next a layer of iron bearing slip is applied. Slips seem to work well with ash glazes and I use several different ones all made from local clays and rock dusts. First the inside of the bowl is slipped then it must be allowed to dry back to leather-hard as it softens from absorbing water from the slip. The outside is then slipped and the pot again allowed to dry back to leather-hard.

The next step is to apply the glaze in the same way as the slip was applied. This must be done while the pot is still leather-hard. First the inside, dry back to leather-hard, then the outside. The ash glaze is a mixture of wood ash, granite dust, and a local white firing high shrinkage clay. As the pot dries this glaze must shrink with the pot so it remains attached to it. If the glaze does not have enough shrinkage it will shell off as the pot dries. Of interest here is that the pot does not yet have the sieve holes drilled. Because it is raw glazed it is much nicer to leave this until after glazing as there will be no dribbling of glaze through the sieve holes - much neater.

When the pot is back to leather-hard the sieve holes are drilled, and the pot set aside to totally dry. At no stage has the pot shape been altered, and up until it goes in the kiln it is perfectly round. The slight squaring of the pot happens in the firing, and is a result of several different things that happen when a once fired pot is fired to a high temperature in a wood-fired kiln.This colander was fired inverted over a straight sided basin serving dish of the same diameter, the two rims separated by four seashells. It is the anchoring of the rim by these four shells that cause the distortion of the rim. The seashells are basically calcium carbonate and will stand very high temperatures without collapsing. When the kiln is opened after the firing the shells will be intact, but within a day or two will absorb moisture and turn to powder as they are now calcium hydroxide.

Why fire this way? A number of reasons including protecting the inside of the bowl from foreign bits which could fall inside and ruin the pot. Wood-firing is prone to this. Also ash glazes which I love to use can pool unpleasantly in the bottom of bowls fired right way up, and I really like the slight distortion from being held by the shells during the firing. The wood firing applies a lovely bronzed blush to the rims and foot rings so being unglazed is not a problem. It is interesting that the distortion of the pot really only happens to any extent because the pot is once fired. If it was bisqued before the glaze firing little or no distortion would occur. The story of what has gone into the making of this is, when you look carefully, clearly told in the finished pot.

So this is the life of a local clay, kick-wheel thrown, once fired ash and rock dust glazed, wood fired colander. I hope someone enjoys using it as much as I enjoyed making it.

Jugs

“If a thrower can make pitchers (jugs) well, he will be able to make any other shape. A good pitcher is the most lively and athletic of all pots”  Cardew Pioneer Pottery.

I make these larger full bodied jugs by first throwing the body of the jug without the neck and rim. When this has stiffened enough a coil of clay is added, centred and the neck and rim thrown. It is possible to throw this all in one go but the body of the jug must then support the weight of the neck and rim while still soft and weak. By throwing in two steps the jug body can be thrown as thinly as possible reducing the weight of the finished jug. The stiffened jug body will then happily support the weight of the clay in the neck and rim. This is important for large jugs as there will be a lot more weight when the jug is filled so the lighter the jug itself the better.

While the neck and rim are still soft the rim is sloped from the spout side to a low point where the handle will attach. I like the way this accentuates the spout, making it dominate the rim of the jug. The spout is shaped and the neck pushed toward the spout to make the jug opening slightly oval. A slight indent is also made in the jug body

where the handle will attach. these two things will result in the handle being closer to the weight of the jug reducing the leveraging effect of the weight of a full jug.

Next the slips and glazes are applied when the pot has reached leather-hard. Firstly white slip inside the jug, then when stiffened again the inside glaze is applied. Now the handle is added by directly pulling the handle from a strap of clay attached at the rim. The attaching of the handle is left until after the inside glaze has stiffened as if it is added before any glazing the rewetting of the clay from the glaze and its subsequent drying causes the clay to swell and shrink. This can result in a cracked rim where the handle attaches.

Next the base, neck and handle of the pot are waxed to resist the glazes. First a slip is applied to the outside then allowed to stiffen. Stamped and carved decoration are applied and the final glazed added. It can then be left to fully dry ready to fire.