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How our pots are made

We use a white Australian stoneware clay. The whole process takes 4-6 weeks from a lump of clay to a finished pot.

The pot begins by being thrown on the wheel and then left to dry slowly for a day or two before being “turned” or trimmed into shape.

After more slow drying to remove all traces of moisture, the pot has the first “biscuit” firing up to 1000o C.
The glaze is applied by dipping and the base is wiped clean to prevent the pot bonding to the kiln shelf.
     
       
At this stage Barbara hand paints the surface with under-glaze colours.

The second “gloss” firing follows in the oil-fired kiln and reaches temperatures of nearly 1300oC.

It takes about 18 hours to do this firing and it is a critical process, reducing the oxygen content to create the soft subtle finish. The kiln is left to cool slowly for a further 2 days.
The final application are the precious metal lustres; gold and platinum. They are painted on as an on-glaze process and then fired in the electric kiln to 760oC.