At ESP Pottery, we create pottery by wheel throwing, forming, extruding, and rolling. But enough of the technical lingo! Let's just talk about making something special out of mud.
We'll walk you through the basic steps of wheel throwing, finishing, glazing, and firing in the pictures on the right. Hopefully it will give you a good appreciation of the work that goes into your unique ESP pot!
Follow the links to jump to:
Part 2: Finishing on the wheel
Part 3: Handwork & Bisque Firing
Part 4: Glazing and the end!
Want some more information?
It starts with a carefully wedged lump of clay, placed onto the electric pottery wheel, and centered with your hands.
Once the clay is centered, you open the center hole with your fingers.
Pulling out on the sides, you take the step called "pulling the floor"
The wall of the pot is then compressed. This helps to align the flat
clay particles, increasing strength and reducing thermal conductivity (i.e., it
keeps your coffee warmer longer)
The floor of the pot is then compressed to get the same benefits as compressing the walls.
The wall then gets pulled to start shaping the pot.
More wall pulling.....
The wall is compressed again. The potter's focus here is to create the proper thickness wall - thick enough for structural strength, but not so thick that the pot is too heavy. Nobody likes a bowling ball with a thumbprint in it!
It's never to early to get quality control involved...
Next on the tour.....