The Process

Each piece you see here is made one at a time by my two hands. There are countless ways to turn a lump of clay into a finished pot. Here is mine:

Nesting Bowls

01 Design

My designs are first and foremost informed by having been a lifelong lover of spending time in the kitchen.

My goal as a potter is to make the versatile, functional pots that I find myself wanting to use and hold every day. My aesthetic vision is rooted in the hues/textures/feels of landscapes that attract my curiosity, Shaker design, and all forms of functional folk art. I hope to create vessels that stir up emotions open to personal interpretation without my own literal symbolism of said places/things that inspire me. Perhaps…expressionism in pottery.

Amelia throwing a vessel

02 Throwing

This is how each piece you see here is formed. My two hands, a few tools, and a pottery wheel.

I have been throwing for about 13 years now and never tire of this nourishing (AND laborious) practice. The term “throwing” refers to the act of throwing a lump of clay onto the wheelhead so it will stick. When I first began, I was hooked by how centering each lump of clay acted as a mirror into what was happening in my inner climate- a sort of therapy and mindfulness practice. When my body and mind are relaxed, as does the ease of forming a vessel…and in contrast if I am tense and not present, it leads to fighting with the clay.

Hand holding a mug with freshly added handle

03 Trimming

The final step to creating the actual
form of a vessel is adding refinement to the foot and sides, which is called trimming.

After the pieces have had a few days to very slowly dry (covered) and reach a “leather-hard” state, they are trimmed. With the piece flipped over on the wheelhead, trimming tools are used to remove excess clay and add form to the bottom of the piece. Trimming a pot, to me, is often what makes the vessel come alive. After they are trimmed is also when mug handles are put on.

Pottery drying

04 Drying

Drying is a crucial part of the process in making each piece. Too fast, and a pot risks cracking to due uneven moisture levels.

Drying takes 2-3 days after throwing and then 3-6 days after trimming (slowly lifting the coverings off). In order to be fired, the pieces must be bone dry so there is no trapped moisture (which can cause a piece to explode and ruin the work around it in the kiln). In this stage, pieces are still picked up numerous times to be cleaned and checked for any irregularities in their shape or surface before they are fully dry.

Pottery in kiln

05 Bisque Firing

All in all, a piece is ready to be bisqued about 7-10 days after it is first thrown. This is the first firing out of two.

The bisque firing is when the pots first enter the kiln as-is (no glaze) and get fired to about 1900*F. They can only go into the kiln when they are bone dry to reduce the risk of trapped moisture which often causes a piece to explode. Any minor excess moisture from their “greenware” state is evaporated. Once they have been bisqued, which takes about 30 hrs until they are cool enough to unload, the pots will be ready to be glazed and then fired again.

Freshly glazed pottery

06 Glaze Firing

After they come out of the bisque
firing, they are ready to be stamped and glazed!

My glazes are all mixed in house by recipes that I have developed over the years to fit my claybody and desired aesthetic (not too shiny, not too matte). Mixing glazes is pretty much just like baking- but with chemicals. It takes a lot of testing and trial and error to not only get the glaze right (in color and finish), but to be sure it fits the claybody correctly. After being glazed, pieces are loaded back into the kiln for their second and final firing. In the glaze firing, pieces reach about 2232*F. It takes about 40 hrs from when the firing starts until it is cool enough to unload.

side plates fired in an open kiln

07 Finishing

After the glaze kiln has cooled down and is unloaded, finished pots are sanded to smooth the area of the pot that is unglazed.

Then they are packed up using plastic-free packaging and sent to their new homes! All of the cardboard boxes are made locally a few miles from my house, and the rest of my supplies is sourced from small businesses- never massive (and, more often than not, problematic) companies like U-line or Amazon.

More about my materials sourcing

Clay recycling station

08 Clay Recycling

Most pots that go out the door these days are made from a percentage of recycled clay.

I collect broken pieces, slop & water from throwing, trimmings, and any other little bits of clay around the studio into 5 gallon buckets to rehydrate. Once it is nice and wet, I turn it out on plaster bats to stiffen to the consistency I like, and then be remixed back into workable clay! I use a machine called a pug mill which has a motor to churn the clay and then extrude it out into beautiful clay that is ready to be put back on the wheel. And the process begins all over again...

A deeper dive into how I recycle my clay

My Philosophy

My work with clay and business practices are grounded in these things- as practices and pillars to continually center back towards.

Functional Art

My love of functional art started as a kid growing up spending lots of time surrounded by american folk art (quilts, weathervanes, and everyday tools/objects.)

This, combined with my later love of farming and local food, made clay feel at home in my hands after I began to throw functional tableware. Friends who I gave pots to would even comment on how their routines shifted: taking their time to enjoy a meal rather than rushing to eat, having a morning ritual with their coffee mug rather than rushing out the door and getting coffee in a disposable cup, cooking nourishing food at home, and simply holding more awareness around WHAT they were feeding themselves and how. My goal as a potter is (and always has been) to create vessels that act as timeless symbols for nourishment, slowness, warmth, beauty, and thoughtfulness. "Nourishment" not in a one-size-fits all approach…but defining it for yourself (“health food” for me also looks like lots of bread and cheese! ). Functional art has the ability to hold so much symbolism and literal usefulness all at once. However you may find joy in using these pieces, my hope is they will inspire you to find a moment of pause each day. To slow down and be present with the 3-d world around you…and to simply hug you back on the days you can’t.

Business Ownership

I look at business ownership through a different lens. I went to school for environmental studies and thought my path would lead me towards a career in environmental education or agriculture.

It wasn’t until shortly after I started this business that I began to see the niche that pottery could have in the environmental movement and slow food revolution alike. My work is rooted in holistic sustainability, and I feel strongly about using my platform and role as an artist and business owner to create dialogue around conscious consumerism and social/environmental — all while exploring what it means to resist late stage capitalism while selling “things”. I believe the role of the craftsman is paramount to a shift in consumerism as well as the health of our local communities and economies. With growth, and as I refine and evolve my mission as a potter, I look to add to and support these movements as much as I can.

holistic sustainability

You will see that I do my best to weave holistic sustainability into my work and business as much as possible.

Plastic-free/recyclable packaging, donating to nonprofits both monetarily and by donating pieces to community-led organizations, partnering only with shops and individuals striving to make a difference, offsetting my carbon footprint for travel (I use Native Energy), and thoughtfully sourcing materials locally and/or by businesses who also align with my ethics whenever I can. I also actively use my platform to discuss conscious consumerism (buying less/quality over quantity), social/environmental justice awareness, and holistic sustainability- as well as what that means as both a business owner and consumer in terms of accountability and transparency. In addition, I am committed to acknowledging the role that racism plays in the degradation of our environment, and the fact that these two fights are intersectional.

Antiracism

As a white cisgender owned business, I am dedicated to being actively anti-racist. You can read my Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion statement here.

I feel strongly that we as business owners and makers have a large social responsibility in a time of moral crises as exhibited by those running our country and the legacy of this white supremacist, patriarchal, and capitalist system in which this country was founded.

Please take a look at this anti-racism resource list.

Functional Art

My love of functional art started as a kid growing up spending lots of time surrounded by american folk art (quilts, weathervanes, and everyday tools/objects.)

This, combined with my later love of farming and local food, made clay feel at home in my hands after I began to throw functional tableware. Friends who I gave pots to would even comment on how their routines shifted: taking their time to enjoy a meal rather than rushing to eat, having a morning ritual with their coffee mug rather than rushing out the door and getting coffee in a disposable cup, cooking nourishing food at home, and simply holding more awareness around WHAT they were feeding themselves and how. My goal as a potter is (and always has been) to create vessels that act as timeless symbols for nourishment, slowness, warmth, beauty, and thoughtfulness. "Nourishment" not in a one-size-fits all approach…but defining it for yourself (“health food” for me also looks like lots of bread and cheese! ). Functional art has the ability to hold so much symbolism and literal usefulness all at once. However you may find joy in using these pieces, my hope is they will inspire you to find a moment of pause each day. To slow down and be present with the 3-d world around you…and to simply hug you back on the days you can’t.

Business Ownership

I look at business ownership through a different lens. I went to school for environmental studies and thought my path would lead me towards a career in environmental education or agriculture.

It wasn’t until shortly after I started this business that I began to see the niche that pottery could have in the environmental movement and slow food revolution alike. My work is rooted in holistic sustainability, and I feel strongly about using my platform and role as an artist and business owner to create dialogue around conscious consumerism and social/environmental — all while exploring what it means to resist late stage capitalism while selling “things”. I believe the role of the craftsman is paramount to a shift in consumerism as well as the health of our local communities and economies. With growth, and as I refine and evolve my mission as a potter, I look to add to and support these movements as much as I can.

holistic sustainability

You will see that I do my best to weave holistic sustainability into my work and business as much as possible.

Plastic-free/recyclable packaging, donating to nonprofits both monetarily and by donating pieces to community-led organizations, partnering only with shops and individuals striving to make a difference, offsetting my carbon footprint for travel (I use Native Energy), and thoughtfully sourcing materials locally and/or by businesses who also align with my ethics whenever I can. I also actively use my platform to discuss conscious consumerism (buying less/quality over quantity), social/environmental justice awareness, and holistic sustainability- as well as what that means as both a business owner and consumer in terms of accountability and transparency. In addition, I am committed to acknowledging the role that racism plays in the degradation of our environment, and the fact that these two fights are intersectional.

Antiracism

As a white cisgender owned business, I am dedicated to being actively anti-racist. You can read my Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion statement here.

I feel strongly that we as business owners and makers have a large social responsibility in a time of moral crises as exhibited by those running our country and the legacy of this white supremacist, patriarchal, and capitalist system in which this country was founded.

Please take a look at this anti-racism resource list.