joyemadeclay.com

Miss Dumpling and her crew were hand thrown out of a speckled clay that is full of visual and physical texture. Hand thrown and hand trimmed, Miss Dumpling's gang has been made with lots of love. After being bisque fired, she was glazed in a bright white glaze. The bottom of each bowl was left raw to highlight the texture in the clay. My favorite thing about speckled clay is that the speckling shows through the glaze, adding a subtle texture to a rather simple design. 4.75 inches diameter and 2.25 inches tall, these bowls hold 20 ounces.

Dumpling and crew are the perfect gift to show your gratitude, respect and love to anyone in your life. She is sure to bring a smile to your face every time you use her.

Each item in my shop is made by hand with all of my attention, love and care. Making pottery has many stages that take a lot of time and caution. First, I either throw the item on my wheel or I handbuild it, depending on the item. Then, the object is left to dry for a few days to see that it does not dry too quickly. This prevents warping and cracks. Once dry, imperfections are taken care of and it goes into the kiln. This first firing is called a bisque firing. It is fired at 1000 degree Celsius (1900 Fahrenheit) for 8 hours and then it has to slowly cool overnight before I can unload the kiln. After the bisque firing and some cleaning of the piece, it is ready to glaze. Once the glaze has dried for a day, it is fired again at 1040 degree Celsius (1920 Fahrenheit). After 19-20 hours of firing and cooling, the piece is almost ready. I do some touch up sanding to the base, clean it off and it is ready for its new home.

As you can see, pottery is not only time intensive, but it requires care at every stage. The smallest variance of this process can bring about a completely different result. The beauty of a handmade piece is that I truly put all of my heart into every stage, making each item that I sell a little piece of my heart. Are there imperfections? Yes. But so much love put into each piece that I hope those imperfections make you love it even more.