Throwing on the wheel
Throwing is shaping clay on a spinning potter’s wheel. A ball of wedged stoneware is centered, opened and pulled up by hand, a little at a time, into its form.
On the wheel
How our pottery is made
From earth to art
Each piece is thrown, trimmed, glazed and fired twice by hand in Los Angeles. Follow a lump of speckled stoneware all the way to a piece you’ll keep for years.
Trimming at leather hard
Leather hard is the stage, a day or two after throwing, when clay is firm but still cool and damp. Each piece is then refined by hand: extra weight is shaved away, the form is sharpened and a foot is carved, whether it’s set upside down on the wheel, held in a chuck or trimmed by hand with loop and ribbon tools.
Leather hard
Bisque firing
Bisque firing is the first, slower trip through the kiln. Bone-dry pieces are fired in our electric kiln, turning raw clay into porous ceramic that is ready for glaze.
Around 1,945°F · cone 04
Glazing
Glazing is applying color by hand. Each bisque-fired piece is dipped, poured or brushed with layers of glaze, like shino and celadon, that look chalky and pale until the kiln turns them to glass.
Dipped and brushed by hand, layer by layer
Glaze firing
Glaze firing is the second, hotter firing. The painted pieces go back into the kiln until the glaze melts into glass and the piece is complete.
Around 2,230°F · cone 6
Reclaiming the clay
Reclaiming turns scraps back into usable clay. Trimmings and pieces that didn’t make it are soaked into slip, dried on plaster and wedged, then it all begins again at the wheel.
Back to the wheel
See it finished
Browse new work in the shop, or past pieces in the archive.
The artist
Chloé
Potter
Chloé grew up in a small town in the countryside of northeastern France. Today, she crafts beautiful ceramic art, shaping stoneware into vases, centerpieces, tableware, and more. Thank you for being part of her journey.
Questions about the process
Is every piece really made by hand?
Yes. Each piece is thrown on the wheel, trimmed, glazed and fired by hand, one at a time. No molds, no production line.
What is the difference between bisque firing and glaze firing?
Bisque is the first, lower firing (cone 04, about 1,945°F) that hardens raw clay so it can take glaze. Glaze firing is hotter (cone 6, about 2,230°F) and melts the glaze into glass.
What clay and kiln do you use?
Stoneware, a dense clay that turns strong and durable at high heat, fired twice in a Skutt® electric kiln.
What does “leather hard” mean?
Firm enough to hold its shape, still damp enough to carve, usually a day or two after throwing. That’s when each piece is trimmed.
What happens to clay scraps?
They’re soaked back into slip, dried on plaster and wedged into fresh clay, so very little goes to waste.