How we do it - Making Clay

Making ceramic stoneware is merely cooking on an industrial scale. First we select our raw materials; ball clay, which comes from Devon, is dug from the river bed. We weigh it, add porcelain and water and blend it in a huge mixer. We sieve it to remove any impurities and pump the liquid clay into the press. Similar to a cheese press, once enough liquid is squeezed from the clay body to form slabs, the ‘cheeses’ are removed from between the cloths.

The consistency is plastic but not yet ready to mould into shape as the air must be removed first by forcing it though the vacuum chamber contained within the pug mill. This looks and functions in a similar way to a giant mincing machine. Dies of varying dimension are placed at the opening of the pug mill to allow ‘sausages’ of different diameter suited to different shapes to be extruded. The correct length is cut and placed in a plaster mould designed to fit the outside profile of each piece.

The mould is fixed to the machine and the inside profile is formed by the metal tool, using centrifugal force, to shape the clay. The mould is removed and left overnight to dry, time enough to allow the plaster to draw moisture from the clay and for the pot to shrink from the mould. The pot now exists in a state known as leather and is ready for finishing.

If it is destined to become a mug, it is at this stage that the handle is put on, the spout is formed if it should be a jug and the foot rings are turned on the bowls. Some methods of decoration can be applied to the leather including incised or carved patterns, a technique known as scraffitto, similar to the decoration of the ANTA ridged bowls and lamps which at this point is applied by hand.

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