Busy Christmas Time

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As I sit down to write this I have just turned off the gas for the last biscuit firing of the year. I will be glazing tomorrow and firing again on Saturday – the kiln should be cool and unpacked by the evening of Sunday 23rd December. With quite a few people relying on the fruits of this firing for their Christmas bounty it will be all fingers and toes crossed! On several occasions previously I have vowed to be more organized in future and not leave it all to the last minute. In truth though I think I probably thrive on a bit of adrenaline fueled hurry and flurry. Continue Reading…

It Only Takes a Couple of Minutes

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I often get asked, “how long does it take to make a pot?” My usual perhaps somewhat flippant reply is a “couple of minutes.” This of course isn’t really true and is somewhat misleading.

Annually at this time of year I make Commemorative Mugs for the year six pupils leaving Teilo Sant, the primary school in my home town Llandeilo. Unlike my standard mugs though this particular batch are personalised with names and a date, they also have an additional transfer firing. I regularly throw a board of mugs at a rate of about twenty an hour – not excessively fast for a repetition thrower but never the less quick enough. It is this throwing twenty in an hour that I am referring to when I casually remark “a couple of minutes.” Here I will explain in more depth what the whole process actually entails.

How long does it take to make one of these special mugs?

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