Mandi’s Pottery
One of the interesting things that we discovered about Mandi Paterson, Jacquie’s aunt that lives near San Francisco
is that she is a pottery enthusiast. She
has a number of lovely pieces in her home and Jacquie and I had the pleasure of
taking a tour of the studio where Mandi produces her works of art.
She goes there once or twice every week to
tutor other students and make pottery.
She took us through the process of making
Pottery. Firstly there is the design
and development stage. “Having an idea
of what you want to make is important, so when you get your clay on the wheel,
you know how to work the mold”, she explains.
Centering the clay on the wheel is also very
important. Once the pottery piece has
been hand crafted on the wheel it is allowed to dry.
Once the piece has been sponged, excess
clay removed and is completely dry, it is ready to be bisque fired. Once the initial firing takes place any bumps
or imperfections are removed. Mandi explained that she uses sand paper for this process.
The next step is to glaze the pottery piece
and then place it back in the kiln for a final firing where it can stay for up
to 24 hours. Mandi explained that the temperature of the
kiln is important and can change depending on the piece that’s being
fired.
To Jacquie and I the process of glazing and
firing seemed a bit complicated, however making the piece on the pottery wheel looked like a lot of fun.
Mandi is an expert and has made many
wonderful pieces. Thanks Mandi for the
tour. J
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