People are often surprised that a single mug takes four weeks. Very little of that is active work — most of it is waiting, and the waiting is not optional.
Week one — throwing
Clay is wedged to remove air, weighed into balls and thrown on the wheel. A mug takes about four minutes at the wheel. A large serving bowl takes closer to fifteen, and roughly one in six collapses.
Week two — trimming and drying
Once the pieces are firm but not yet dry, each one goes back on the wheel upside down so the foot can be trimmed. Handles are pulled by hand and attached at this stage.
Then everything dries slowly under plastic. Rush this and the piece cracks — usually at the handle join, usually a week later, always invisibly until it is too late.
Week three — the first firing
The first firing runs at a lower temperature and takes most of a day, then the kiln cools for another full day. This hardens the pieces just enough to be handled for glazing.
Week four — glaze and the final firing
Each piece is dipped twice, wiped clean at the foot, and loaded into the kiln with a few millimetres between neighbours. The final glaze firing runs much hotter, takes the better part of a day, and then cools for another full day.
Opening a cooled kiln is the only part of the month we both stop for. Roughly nine out of ten pieces make it through. The rest go in the shard bucket.