Why Does Pottery Take Long to Make?
This is a question that comes up frequently, and it’s not a bad question to ask. So here’s the almost, kinda sorta, I really tried, short and sweet version of why it can be an 6 - 8 week process, sometimes 10, if I’m unlucky.
Step 1: Throwing - this step is the part of the process that almost always comes to mind when thinking about pottery. Depending on how large a piece is it can take anywhere from 10 mins to an hour or two.
Step 2: Drying - the deceiving part of the process that you would think takes a day to dry after the piece has been thrown on the wheel. Again, depending on how large your piece is, it could take up to a week or 1.5 weeks. Typically it’s a slow process to prevent pieces from cracking before they’ve gone into the kiln aka a BIG ASS OVEN.
Step 4: Trimming - BUT just before it finishes drying, and considered a leather hard stage, is the soothing process of trimming the pieces. This part often gives the piece that refined, personal touch. Trimming is a fairly quick process and you can knock out several pieces within an hour.
Step 5: First Firing - Now that the piece has been trimmed and is fully dried, it’s time for it to go into that big ass oven for its first firing. The actual firing isn’t a long process, but there is about a 2 week wait time before there are enough pieces to fill the kiln.
Step 6: Glazing - Probably the part of the process I loathe the most. It’s a tedious, monotonous task, and depending on how complex the glaze combo is, it could take a while. For me, it takes about 2 hours to glaze 6-8 pieces.
Step 7: Final Firing…sometimes - Because I’m in a shared studio space, pieces are often fired on a FIFO (first in, first out) schedule. For this reason, it could be another 2, sometimes 3 weeks before the glazed pieces come out of the kiln.
Now, ya girl also has a full-time job, so I’m not in the studio every day. I try to get in the studio several days a week for a few hours at a time. There’s also a lot of places in the process where things can go wrong causing me to start over.
Taking all of this into consideration, it’s easy to see how and why the process can take so long.
For those wanting to pre-order, I appreciate you all so much and just ask for your patience as I create the handmade pieces. Each piece is unique and takes time to execute, but I am forever grateful for you wanting to support this small business owner’s dreams.
