Functional Pottery

Most pieces are thrown on the potters wheel with added handles, altered bodies or textured surfaces. I also enjoy slab construction which is rolling out a piece of clay like granny's cut-out cookies, then cutting out the parts and assembling.

Pieces are fired in a bisque firing at 1940 degrees Fahrenheit to make them hard enough to handle for glaze application. I use multiple layers of glazes to create a molting of the colors. The glazes are dipped, airbrushed or brushed then placed in the kiln a second time to make pieces vitreous, which means "like glass". My pottery is fired to 2220 degrees Fahrenheit which makes it able to be used. All functional pieces are food safe, microwave and dishwasher safe.

The filigree bowls are thrown on the wheel then footed. When they are leather hard, I carve each bowl free hand. A little more drying is needed before I cleanup the burs with a damp sponge then allow to dry totally. Next they go through the firing and glazing process. The filigree patterns are derived from nature; floral or leaf patterns, butterfly wings, and snowflakes. The bowls are totally functional as colanders. Larger pierced designs make nice centerpiece fruit bowls.

The textural pieces are made by rolling and pressing hand carved stamps on the wheel thrown pots. After the texture is applied, the pot is distorted, off center and needs to be re-thrown to form a symmetrical shape with a strong rim. The vertical mark on the inside of pots are my finger marks pressing the clay into the stamp. I find this makes an interesting contrast to the organic horizontal texture on the outside of pot. I have many floral stamps available for special orders.