jmtceramics

Hi, I’m Jessie! I am the one woman show behind jmt ceramics.

I make each pieces myself from start to finish. The process begins with wedging the clay to get out any air bubbles that could cause trouble in the throwing for firing process. Once wedged, I weigh each piece. Different items will be cut into different weights.

Then the fun starts, I get onto my wheel and I start throwing. This is where the items start to take shape. And this is the most fun step for me!

Once thrown, each piece is covered in plastic and tucked away to dry very slowly. We don’t want things to dry too fast as they will crack easily if done so.

Pieces will dry to what we call the leather hard phase, this is when we trim each pieces. Trimming is the use of trimming tool to smooth out your pieces and refine their shapes. If the piece requires a handle then I will pull handles and attached once the piece is trimmed.

These go back under plastic to dry for a few more days. Then I remove the plastic and let each piece get to the bone dry stage. Once bone dry they are ready for their first firing!

This first kiln firing is called the bisque fire, this step drives off the water and carbon from the clay and fuses the clay particles together.

The next step to the process is to glaze the pieces after they have been bisque fired. All glazed pieces go into the kiln for one last firing. This second kiln firing causes a remarkable change in the clay and glaze. It completes the transformation of pots from a soft, fragile substance to one that is rock-hard and impervious to water and time. And it causes the glazes to transform into some pretty magical colours!