Video Description

In this video, I will be showing how I made the lamp “Queenstown.”

First, the stoneware clay was prepared for the wheel, then centered, opened, and the walls pulled up to achieve walls approximately 3/8” thick. (00:08)

Then shaping is done with fingertips and the use of a “rib” to stiffen and smooth the walls. (00:46)

The next part of the video shows rolling a slab, approximately ½” thick (01:33). When the slab firms up a bit to the “leather-hard “ stage, shapes are cut to fit the profile of the lamp body, then attached to the body by “scoring and slipping” which means the surfaces that attach need to be roughed up and a layer of creamy/wet clay is applied so the clays bond to each other. (02:11)

After all of the details are finished, the lamp base needs to dry thoroughly before firing, which takes at least a week.

The lamp base is then ready for the first firing called a “bisque” firing to about 1850ºF ( 02:32). Then it is glazed and fired again to a temperature of 2380º, and cooled slowly (02:55).

The whole process took 2 weeks, and is captured in this video.