Have you ever wondered what happens to your pottery after you have painted it? Well first we ensure the description on your customer sheet is correct, so we can identify it when it comes out of the kiln to be wrapped.
Then we sit your pottery on our drying shelves for at least 24 hours, longer if it is a larger item.
When it is completely dry we can then glaze it. To do this we stir the glaze in the tank to ensure it is thoroughly mixed using first a, wait for it … a toilet brush (obviously one which has never been in a toilet!) . These brushes have so many bristles on them its great for pushing through the glaze to make sure it is smooth. Then we sweep a sieve through the glaze to pick up any bits of pot or stray bits . After this we pick up each pot holding it with large tongs and push it into the glaze and ensure it goes right under, then hold it up over the tank to let it drain. The pot is then placed onto the drying shelves again onto special racks to leave it to dry. The glaze has a dye in it so that when it dries onto the pot we can make sure it has covered the pot completely. This is especially important for foodware items. The pots are then left to dry again for another 24 hours. I hope this is useful and I’ll tell you about how we load the pots into the kiln for firing next time.
Thanks Jane, Katy and Kelvin the kilns