North Main Studio LLC

Handcrafted Porcelain Pottery, Elegantly Designed, Exquisitely Crafted, Artfully Displayed

Days of Future Past

Here are some past days in the studio to help illustrate the process of future works

Throwing, trimming, slab work and assembly all takes place at the table within easy reach of the dampbox and wareracks

Finishing gravy boats, Paint bowls are drying, waiting to be trimmed.

Carving teapot footrims & lids. Spouts were pulled earlier. Lids, spouts and the top of the teapot are kept moist stacked under a "deli" container while the bottom dries enough to carve.

Some new extrusion dies are being cut out at the workbench. A form for making fitted extrusion handles (ie baking dish or oval vase handles) is at the far end of the table.

Large slabs are rolled out on the slabroller and cut up for trays and tiles. The slabs will be drape molded into trays to be used for Swamp Vases and Cream & Sugar Sets.

Assembling Swamp Vases. The oval flower holder, the dividers, the partialy finished trays and the lugs to hold the driftwood are stored in plastic containers at the optimal dampness untill all the parts are ready to assemble. The flower holders were thrown a month ago. The trays were molded a week ago and were ready to remove from the molds 2 days later.

Bisque ware is sorted onto wareboards as it is unloaded from the electric kiln. It is easier to move the work around the studio on the wareboards several items at a time. Melted parafin wax will be applied to the lids, bottoms and footrims of all the items as soon as they are cool enough.

This chart is used to plan what will be glazed for the upcoming kiln firing. Each line on the chart equals 1 inch of stacking height. There are 3 columns representing each stack of shelves. The blue lines are kiln shelves. This helps me to bring only what I need to the killn. Saves me time by not glazing many extra items. It also keeps me from running out of kiln shelves.

Glazed wares are packed with foam into wooden crates as soon as the glaze is dry. Cardbord shims keep the pots packed tightly so they won't vibrate and rub away at the glazes.The lids on these teapots were secured to the pot with melted parafin wax befor they were crated.

Landscapes are created by pouring, trailing and brushing the glazes onto the bisqueware. When the landscape is finished it is masked off with latex wax. The outer area of the lid is then cleaned up. The pot can then be dipped in glaze. Baby powder protects the waxed area during shippping to the kiln.

Pots have been unloaded from the pick up.The kiln loading chart is at hand to speed up loading the kiln. I will be able to start the kiln in about 5 hours.

Some pots have additional non-clay elements added after the final firing. Driftwood accents are being added to these Swamp Vases. Later in the week I will add driftwood handles to Memory Jars and fabricate twisted brass wire hangers for platters at the workbench.

North Main Studio LLC

402 North Main Street
Stillwater, MN 55082-5059

Phone: (651) 351-1379