Ostler Artware

How is Ostler ArtWare Made?

1) Preparing the clay mixture: This is done in a special mixer which mixes the clay to uniform consistency , removes excess air which causes clay to crack or shatter during firing, and brings the clay to the desired hardness or softness based on the moisture content.

2) Shaping the clay: At Ostler ArtWare our pieces are formed exclusively by hand “throwing” the clay on a pottery wheel or “hand-building” the clay piece by a Master Potter .
3) Drying the piece to “leather hard”: Allows the clay to be moist enough to carve, but dry enough to hold it’s shape (1-3 days)

4) Trimming: Trimming is a carving process done by the potter — a mark of “high quality” on hand-thrown pottery.

5) Finish Work: The decorating and embellishing process in which the potter adds things such as hand-pulled handles, pouring spouts, and potter’s marks such as the potter’s signature.

6) Drying the pottery to “bone dry”: to ensure there’s no moisture left in the piece. (another 1-3 days!)

7) “Bisque Firing”: The dried piece is now put through the first kiln firing at 1800-degrees F which turns the clay to porous “bisqueware” which will no longer dissolve when exposed to liquids.

8) Glazing: The bisqueware is now ready for the application of glaze treatments which are essentially colored glass in liquid form that adhere to the clay body to give it a decorative “glass-like” finish. The glaze color is determined by the “recipe” used by the potter, and many variations in color are possible depending upon the type of kiln used and the firing temperature applied.

9) “Glaze Firing” : This is the final “baking” process of the pottery which turns the clay into glass-covered stone. Ostler ArtWare is fired in a gas kiln to “Cone 10,” which is approximately 2400 degrees F. Thus, our pottery is called “high fire” pottery due to the high temperatures applied which give our pottery its beautiful finished appearance and strength.

Text Box: Trimmed & fired bisqueware, ready for glazing.