A fun trick is to google "lather bowl." Try it and you will see ours as one of the very top hits worldwide. Because of this, I thought you all would enjoy seeing the steps that go into making our lather bowls. As you will see, they are created one at a time by hand.
After the bowls are formed on the wheel they go into the kiln for what is referred to as a "bisque firing." This hardens them and vaporizes any moisture so the surfaces will be ready to be glazed. Next, they are removed from the kiln, are cooled and then wiped down to eliminate any minor rough spots. They are then dipped into the glaze and are ready to be fired the final time.
Stay tuned to this thread. I hope to have some more pictures that take you through the end of the process.
Each ball of clay is weighed to ensure uniform size. (Note the scale in the background.) Then it is rolled back and forth by hand to eliminate any small air pockets and literally align the molecules of clay.
The ball is centered on the wheel and the process of forming the bowl begins.
The grooves in the bottom of our bowls are literally formed by gently pressing a finger into the clay as the bowl spins. Once it is formed and within closely measured parameters it is removed from the wheel by running a wire underneath as seen here.
Next it is time for our signature thumb rest to be created and affixed. The stamp can just be seen in hand on the far left.
At this point all the bowls go into the kiln for the bisque firing. When they come out here is what they look like on the very bottom row. The darker ones have had their bisque firing and already been dipped into the glaze. Look carefully and you will see white ones on the middle shelf with cross hatched lines on them - these will be Blue Sky once they are fired again. The buckets underneath are all of the different glazes the bowls are dipped into. Those are our large bowls on the very top shelf.
Now it is on to the glazing step. Each bowl is lowered into a bucket of thoroughly stirred glaze since it can settle quickly. The bowls are pulled out and set to dry. These bowls in the picture will be our Magma colored bowls and will next receive their stripes across the surface.
You will note that as it comes out of the bucket there is an outer ring on the bottom that does not have glaze on it. This outer ring is treated with wax to prevent the glaze from penetrating the bowl. This outer ring is what touches the countertop since the interior is recessed. This is common in pottery to ensure the bowl sits flat on the counter. If there is no outer raised ring then the bowl will most assuredly wobble since one spot on the bottom will be just a bit higher than elsewhere.
Then the bowls are set to dry.
How about THAT?
Remember, check back in a week or two for the next steps...
~ The Captain
After the bowls are formed on the wheel they go into the kiln for what is referred to as a "bisque firing." This hardens them and vaporizes any moisture so the surfaces will be ready to be glazed. Next, they are removed from the kiln, are cooled and then wiped down to eliminate any minor rough spots. They are then dipped into the glaze and are ready to be fired the final time.
Stay tuned to this thread. I hope to have some more pictures that take you through the end of the process.
Each ball of clay is weighed to ensure uniform size. (Note the scale in the background.) Then it is rolled back and forth by hand to eliminate any small air pockets and literally align the molecules of clay.
The ball is centered on the wheel and the process of forming the bowl begins.
The grooves in the bottom of our bowls are literally formed by gently pressing a finger into the clay as the bowl spins. Once it is formed and within closely measured parameters it is removed from the wheel by running a wire underneath as seen here.
Next it is time for our signature thumb rest to be created and affixed. The stamp can just be seen in hand on the far left.
At this point all the bowls go into the kiln for the bisque firing. When they come out here is what they look like on the very bottom row. The darker ones have had their bisque firing and already been dipped into the glaze. Look carefully and you will see white ones on the middle shelf with cross hatched lines on them - these will be Blue Sky once they are fired again. The buckets underneath are all of the different glazes the bowls are dipped into. Those are our large bowls on the very top shelf.
Now it is on to the glazing step. Each bowl is lowered into a bucket of thoroughly stirred glaze since it can settle quickly. The bowls are pulled out and set to dry. These bowls in the picture will be our Magma colored bowls and will next receive their stripes across the surface.
You will note that as it comes out of the bucket there is an outer ring on the bottom that does not have glaze on it. This outer ring is treated with wax to prevent the glaze from penetrating the bowl. This outer ring is what touches the countertop since the interior is recessed. This is common in pottery to ensure the bowl sits flat on the counter. If there is no outer raised ring then the bowl will most assuredly wobble since one spot on the bottom will be just a bit higher than elsewhere.
Then the bowls are set to dry.
How about THAT?
Remember, check back in a week or two for the next steps...
~ The Captain
