Celadon
Glassy, jade-green and pooling darker in every carved line. Subtle, and endlessly calm.
The studio
Clay, fire, and
a lot of patience.
Away from the screen, I’m a potter. I throw on the wheel, glaze, and fire kilns, and I’m happiest with clay up to my elbows. It’s a craft built on feel, chemistry and timing, and I know it inside and out.
At the wheel
From a lump of clay to a finished form.
Wheel throwing
Centering, opening and pulling walls to shape cylinders, bowls, bottles and vases with even, intentional forms.
Trimming & finishing
Trimming feet at leather-hard, refining profiles, and adding the details that make a piece feel right in the hand.
Glazing
Dipping, pouring and layering glazes, with test tiles to dial in color, texture and how a glaze breaks over an edge.
Inside the kiln
Where the real alchemy happens.
Firing is the part most potters find mysterious, and it’s the part I know best. A good firing is careful planning, close watching and knowing exactly when to leave things alone.
- Loading and stacking for even heat
- Bisque and glaze firing schedules, ramps and holds
- Reading witness cones and controlling the cooldown
- Diagnosing crawling, pinholing, crazing and other glaze defects
- Kiln care: elements, thermocouples, shelves and kiln wash
- Keeping a firing log so every result can be repeated
Glazes I love
A palette made of fire.
Four classic glaze families, each with its own personality, and each a lesson in how chemistry and heat work together.
Tenmoku
Deep iron black that breaks to rust where it thins. Dramatic and earthy.
Shino
Creamy white with flashes of fire orange. Every piece comes out of the kiln different.
Ash
Runny, mottled green-gold that records the flow of heat and flame across the surface.
Clay & code
What the wheel taught me about technology.
Lesson 01
Center first.
If the clay isn’t centered, nothing you build on it will hold. Same with systems: get the foundations right before adding anything clever.
Lesson 02
Respect the process.
You can’t rush a firing or open the kiln early. Good automations and good websites need testing time too.
Lesson 03
Test, record, repeat.
Test tiles and firing logs are how potters get repeatable results. Documentation does the same job in technology.
Talk shop
Fellow potter, kiln owner, or just curious?
I’m always happy to talk clay, glazes and firing, or to help you work out what went wrong in your last kiln load.