Oriental Coiled pottery

By rolling out strands of high fire stoneware clay, the process of Oriental Coiling begins, one of the oldest ways of forming pottery.  The long strands are layered on top of each other and joined together by blending them, coil to coil.

The pot is then covered and allowed to rest overnight before being shaped by pressing the clay outward.  Once the clay is dry like leather, porcelain slip is painted onto the outside surface.  Designs are immediately carved into the pot with a sharp tool. This technique is called sgraffito (skră-fē) meaning to scratch though the surface to reveal a different color underneath.

The piece is air dried completely for several days and then glazed by spraying.  At this stage, the pot is quite fragile and will crumble if hit.  It is carefully put into the gas kiln, where it is fired in a 14 hour process to 2350°F.  Firing only once it eliminates the bisque firing step, which conserves fuel, but still produces beautiful glaze results.