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There is about one million steps in making a finished piece of pottery. My process is learned from the one and only Foxlo pottery.  

It took me some time to learn how to throw on the wheel consistently, and I am still working on making larger pieces. It is essentially the first step in my process without getting too picky about listing all the things that go into it before I am able to throw. Once a piece is thrown, I let it dry covered for a few days, if a handle is needed, I pull handles the next day and put handles on.

Looking for inspiration in the curves and shape of the pot once it's leather hard and ready to be carved helps determine what it will become.  I use a variety of sources including books, designs acquired over the years from Foxlo's archives, the internet, and freehand work.

I absolutely love carving on my pottery and it sets it apart from the rest. I use a variety of tools to carve, sketch, etch, emboss, etc. I freehand a lot of my work, especially my landscapes, making a truly one of a kind piece. I also use pictures that I have taken to trace onto a piece and then carve, or images from books, or an image that someone sent me to do a custom piece. I can take the carving in a few different ways, my favorite is to stain the piece to really bring out all the details I spent so much time carving. Another way is to choose a glaze that creates a darker color in the places that I have carved for a desired effect. Carving is my favorite part of the process because it allows my artistic side to come out, and I really get into the details.

Once a pot is finished, I put it on the wheel again to trim the bottom. This can help the shape of the piece sometimes if it needs some trimming down at the bottom. 

Fire #1. Bisque fire. Now I have a whole kiln load which took me 4-6 months since I have limited time to work on my pottery, but that’s ok! I am so happy that I am able to do something creative while being a full time momma. Bisque fired. 

My least favorite part, it is so tedious and stressful for me. It is time to make or break your fine art pieces you’ve already spent hours and hours on, and you can absolutely mess it up with the wrong glaze, or the wrong amount of time dipping it in the glaze, or the wrong glaze combinations, or the glaze drips on your carving in a way you didn’t plan. The list is endless. The way I glaze has many steps in the process. Basically the glaze is applied, and then wiped off in certain areas to create a desired effect. It takes a long time, it’s messy, and easy to mess up, but it makes the piece so intensely beautiful when done right.  

Fire #2. Glaze firing. Fingers crossed, 6 months of work all in one kiln load, and the results are mostly incredible! Some pieces come out stellar, other pieces are just ok (I’m my own worst critic). We unload the kiln and inspect each piece, remembering all the hard work that was put into it, what problems you had with it, how you came up with that design. And now it is in it’s final form.

The final steps to making the pottery is sanding the bottoms, making sure there are no rough edges, inspecting every aspect of the piece to ensure it’s functionality and durability. Grinding any glaze drips until smooth, or smoothing any chipping that happened. This is where I determine if the piece is good enough, in my eyes, to ask money for it.

Time to photograph the pieces and see who needs them! Upload them onto the website, pack them up, and send them off to their new homes. Cheers friends, thanks for reading.