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I am currently on a personal hiatus and the online shop is closed. Email inquiries welcome!
I am currently on a personal hiatus and the online shop is closed. Email inquiries welcome!
INTENTIONAL. CONSIDERED. LOVED.
The handcrafted process is involved, intensive and intentional, with collections evolving over a number of weeks and months.
Custom orders are handcrafted and not created at the same time as the original collections, therefore there will be variations between the individual products. Special orders are schedule dependent and typically take a minimum of 6 months. We welcome requests for complete tableware collections and also accommodate wedding registries.
Ideas and inspiration come from the everyday, and a global context. Every culture on every continent has produced some kind of domestic vessel and I gain insight from resarch and diving into the immense history of pottery.
I use as many different kinds of domesic products as possible and notice how they feel, how they look aesthetically, their shape and size (if they fit in my dishwasher well!). I also find great inspiration in the colours, textures and shapes of my environment.
For wheel-thrown pottery the clay is placed on the wheel and those hard-earned hours of repetitive practice are chanelled into the form. For pieces using slab construction, the slab is rolled, cut and textures added before skillfully being constructed into a 3 dimensional vessel..
Once the initial form is made a period of waiting is endured. The timing is weather and season dependant. The projects need to dry and firm up to just the right consistency before the next step in construction can happen (i.e. addition of handles, trim or other form refinement). It often takes multiple days to finish a piece.
Once the piece is finished being constructed it needs to air dry completely before it is fired. If it is not completely dry it will explode in the kiln as the water vapour evaporates quickly. This first firing is called the bisque firing.
Once out of the bisque firing the work is sanded and checked over for structural inconsistencies and washed to remove any dust.
Making glaze is similar to the rhythm of baking. Powdered minerals are measured out using a scale - these are often toxic to breathe so this is all done wearing a respirator. Water is added, the mixture is sieved, and then tested again before being applied to the work – simply having the wrong amount of water can have adverse affects.
Depending on the surface quality and the type of glaze being used I will dip, pour, or paint on the glaze being sure not to have any on the bottom of the work or it will stick to the kiln shelves in the next firing.
I use an electric kiln that usually reaches around 2200F or 1200C and depending on how full the kiln is can take up to 2 days to fire and cool. This is a “mid range” firing. I have built a gas kiln that using a very different method of firing in Whistler which is “high fire” that takes a week to fire and cool and reaches temperatures of 2400F and has a much larger volume inside the kiln. Objects can not touch in this firing or they will be permanently attached.
Once they are out of the kiln they are inspected again for any structural inconsistencies. Some are done and ready to be used, others…..
For my collaboration with Natasshia Neary, her illustrations are digitized and rendered into decals that are applied after the glaze firing and are put back into the kiln at a very low temperature firing. Just enough for the glaze to soften and secure the decal in place.
The 18K Gold that is applied to some of my collections requires a 3rd firing as well. The gold and decal firings are at the same temperature and can be done together. However, gold can not be put onto the decal. Therefore the pots that have a decal and gold go through four firings. Every time a piece goes into the kiln regardless of the firing it is being exposed to unforeseen elements and has the potential to come out with defects.
