QUASIMODO UNIQUE POTTERY
UNIQUE FAT MUG - PERFECT FOR COFFEE
Over the past twenty years Dave and Marlyn have been perfecting their own glazes and glazing techniques including the use of local Fraser river clays from British Columbia. We hand throw our pots using high temp stoneware. The basic form is designed to be practical, the function dictating the form, but with the addition of stylish handles, knobs, or elaborate design work and glazing each piece becomes distinctive.
MAGNIFICENT HAND MADE TEA POT
Quasimodo’s glazes and glazing techniques have evolved by trial and error over a period of twenty years. There are various steps involved in our glazing process.
. Each year we dig up about 500 pounds of clay from rivers in the Fraser Valley. This must be dried completely over several days, then crushed into small pieces. We then rehydrate it with enough water to turn it into thick creamy liquid or ‘slip’. To help the slip adhere properly to the pots and to insure it melts smoothly in the firing, we add other glaze materials. We then apply the clay slip to the exterior of bisqued pots either by dipping or hand painting.
BEAUTIFUL UNIQUE WINE JUG
. The design work is drawn over the layer of clay slip using large syringes filled with wax resist. The fine tip of the needle allows a controlled application of the wax resist creating the fine lines of the pattern or the outlines of the decorative images or scenery. These will now be filled in with a variety of colored glazes and then waxed out.
. We now dip the pots into the first over glaze which will fire to a blue/green color. To preserve this color in specific areas we once again use wax resist.
The last glaze, which produces a muted plum color, we must apply in two stages, first to the exterior of the pots and then to the interior.
Much like decorating Easter eggs, the wax design work and waxed over colored areas ‘resist’ the various layers of over glazes preserving the patterns and colors.
FABULOUS UNIQUE CASSEROLE DISH
The entire glazing process often takes us several days. Application of the decoration and the different layers of glazes is very labour intensive and time consuming as the pots must be allowed to dry completely after every stage of the process.
The pots are fired in an electric kiln and each firing must be monitored to climb at a specific rate until the kiln reaches 2240F (cone 6). It is then held at this temperature for about ten to fifteen minutes to allow the glazes to fully develop.
HANDMADE BRIE BOWL
During the firing the wax burns away to reveal the designs or colored images and the river clay slip glaze blends with the over glazes to create a further palate of colors.
Using these techniques we produce a full line of functional ‘oven-to-table ware’ and a line of decorative wall pieces and accent pieces.
All our work is oven and microwave proof, dishwasher safe, and lead free. You can find lots more of the superbly creative, beautiful and excellent value pottery at Side Street Studio.
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