process of making pottery

Each process cycle (from beginning to end) takes roughly 4 weeks and produces 5 to 30 pieces of pottery depending on the size and complexity of the piece.

The process cycle involves the followings:

Throwing and Trimming of Clay:

95% of my pottery are thrown and trimmed on a pottery wheel. I usually throw from a hump of clay. At one time, 10kg of clay is centered and thrown on a pottery wheel so that I can continuously make pots at the top of the hump until all the clay are used. In most cases, trimming is necessary to create the proper footing and thickness of the pot. Because all the pots are hand-thrown (on a pottery wheel) or hand-built (using hand-made plaster mould), the size and shape of each pot may vary.

Pattern Design:

Each pattern design goes through a number of sketches or phases before it appears on the final product. Even for the same pattern, its arrangement must be carefully thought through for each piece due to its different shape and size.

Carving of Different Patterns:

There are many ways to decorate the pots. I chose carving as the key feature on my pottery because most of the carved pieces allow customers to touch and feel the patterns in addition to its visual presentation. Each piece was brushed on white-colored slip before carving the pattern.

Bisque Firing:

Once the pots have been air-dried, they are then placed in an electric kiln for bisque firing which lasts for 10 hours and its internal temperature reaches up to 980°C.

Applying Glaze:

For each glaze I have today, the glaze ingredients and its proportions were carefully tested and adjusted through a series of test firings to produce the desired result before applying to the bisque ware. At the moment, all my glaze formulas are based on iron-oxide and, in 2019, I started testing copper-based glaze formulas.

Glaze Firing (at cone 9):

Last step of the process is to glaze-fire the pots (for another 10 hours) under reduction firing in a gas kiln to produce the color hue of my pottery. The firing must be closely monitored by me as there is no computer control for my gas kiln. Once glaze firing is complete, the pots need to be slowly cooled down inside the kiln for up to 48 hours before they can be taken out.

All pots are food-safe and microwavable.