The start

Everything begins with a pack of clay. Most of my ceramics are wheel-thrown, so I will measure out how large clay balls I will use. Like cups and mugs are smaller approx. 300 gram clay, larger cups can go up to 500 gram clay, plates even more 1000 g or more, it depends the size and how thick I will make them.

After the measuring process is ready I will knead the clay, it depends how I do that which clay I use. This rustic lava clay I use, I have my own way to knead. It is very soft, so I can not do it traditional way on table, it is more like throwing the clay on table, to get the air-bubbles out from raw clay. And then I wheel throw the pieces I need to throw! In the beginning, when I started to play with clay, I could do what ever I had in my mind, at the moment, it more making the custom orders that are in my list and I try to make some pieces that are not custom orders to.

Other method, I use is building up my pieces on plaster forms or use this old fashion method, sausage-method, rolling the clay sausages and placing them on the top of each other. Most of my small bowls are made with building up method. It is method that takes even more time then wheel-throwing, because every piece goes through my hands and I have collect every bowl one-by-one, and I need to wait then and make them smooth. When the bowls are leather-hard, the water starts to dissapear from the walls, I can swamp the bowls. And the swamp them again. it is as watch over babies that need a day care. The process takes over a week, bowls are trying between every move.

After making the ceramics in different ways, all mugs, bowls, spoons a.s.o. will dry on shelves and this takes time. For smaller and thinner things it will take 1-2 weeks, plates and large ceramics take even longer, 3-4 weeks. The drying process is something You can not rush through, because if You do that, it will cost You a other end. Cracks will come, ceramics will brake in bisque firing or in glazing. I turn my cups upside down, also plates and more around to make it faster, but it will take all the time it needs.

After 2 weeks, if ceramics are dry and when I have enough different items ready, mugs can go into the kiln, it is called bisque firing. I try to fill my kiln with different pieces. The best is, when the mugs have the same high, so I can make one layer with only mugs or plates, but I can not put only plates into the kiln. The warm air will not have the space a move around, so I need to make 1-2 high layers to. It sounds very technical, but some way it is so.

GLAZING

Glazing is very important part of pottery making. Still everything can go wrong in this task and all the work You did to get the best cup or bowl can be destroyed in glazing. I recommend to make tests before several times, to be sure, if this glaze is suitable with your clay type. Glaze can run off, can turned out very thin or to thick or funny color? There is so many ways to go. I think it very important to learn to know the glazes You use, so You know how they behave.

I glaze all my ceramics inside first and let them try overnight, so there is time to try. If You pots are very thick, You don`t need to to that. If the ceramics are to wet, the glaze will run off.