I use mainly stoneware clay which I buy from Dobles in Cornwall and either throw on an electric wheel (for mugs, bowls and round plates, teapots, jugs and vases of different sizes} or roll in sheets of constant thickness and press into plaster moulds (for square large and small plates and bottles).The plaster moulds I make using a pre-prepared form.

After partial drying (to leather hard) the pots may be trimmed, handles fixed to mugs and jugs and spouts to tea pots. The pots are allowed to dry fully and then fired for about 8 hours to 980 degrees C (so called "biscuit fired").

When cooled the pots are glazed. A glaze is a suspension in water of various naturally occurring compounds containing silica for the glass, aluminium , calcium, magnesium etc., wood ash feldspar whiting etc. and colour forming materials - iron,copper, barium, manganese,chromium etc

I use a small number of glazes; a dark brown/black japanese glaze called "Tenmoku"; a white ash glaze made from fir tree ash; a green wood ash glaze made from mixed hardwood ash; and a dolomite glaze which with my clay gives a speckled off white colour. The glazed pots are fired for about 9 hours to 1280 degreesC.

I now have an electric kiln which has been modified to also use gas for reduction for controlled firing for Oil Spot glaze development

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