About 'Pots'
Let’s talk about the ‘Pots’ part in my name by going through the process of making pots. Ceramics, or ‘making pots’ as I call it, is a process that you can't rush. Whenever you try to go fast, your pot will crack or collapse at a later stage. So let me take you through the process, step by step.
1st stage: clay
I always start by wedging my clay to make sure there’s no air in it. Once that’s done I start making a pot. Some pots I prefer to build by hand, others I throw on the pottery wheel. When the shape of the pot is made, it needs to dry for another day before I can finish it. To finish I sign the pot and make sure that it has a nice butt :) Then I give the pots another 1-2 weeks to dry slowly before they’re ready for their bisque fire.
Fun fact: All pots can be recycled over and over again if they aren’t fired yet.
2nd stage: bisque ware
After the pots cooled down from the 950°C fire, they’re thirsty for glaze. Because of the high temperature of the first fire, the pots are no longer fragile, but they are not yet watertight. Therefore you need to glaze your pots. The heat of the second fire turns the glaze into a kind of glass layer.
I try to make most glazes myself, but I’m still learning and that's OK.
3rd and last stage: stoneware
When the pots are cooled down from their second and last fire at 1240°C, they’re done! The high temperature in combination with the glass layer of the glaze makes the pot watertight AND dishwasher safe!