The Process of Making Pottery

At the wheel with Rossini at my feet...

Technical Information

I work in porcelain and stoneware, usually fired to Cone 6 in oxidation.  I make things on the wheel, and I also build by hand, whether with slabs or coils. During the pandemic, I have worked very small in a Japanese technique called nerikomi with tiny bits of colored porcelain that I assemble, cut and rearrange is if making a quilt out of clay.

All my interior glazes are food-safe, lead-free and dishwasher-safe.  My pieces can go into the microwave (but not the oven).

The Pottery Tradition

Making ceramics is as old as humankind. Potters take malleable clay, form it into shapes, dry it, fire it, decorate and glaze it, and fire it again until it can no longer return to its malleable form, having been chemically altered by the firing. 

There is a huge loss ratio along the way to producing one beautiful object: pieces break before firing, they warp or crack inside the kiln, the glaze fails to work as expected, or the kiln fails to fire properly. 

As frustrating as all that might sound, for me, the process of making, the repetition, the physical effort, the refining of an idea, the experimentation along the way to finding a different way to solve a problem, are just plain all-engaging. I love clay!

Jewelry boxes made from colored porcelain

Woodfire in Connecticut a few years back. This is not the kiln I usually use...

Buying My Work

​YES! I do sell my work.  In the pre-pandemic age, I had an annual open house/sale of my recent work, generally the last weekend before Christmas.  If you would like to be added to my mailing list, please SUBSCRIBE and I will send you an announcement of my next sale.​ If you simply must have some of my pieces now, shoot me a mail and together we can figure out how to make that happen.