The slide show to the left shows the process of making a micaceous vessel.
Picuris Mountains, New Mexico
Felipe Ortega (my mentor) and my daughter Sunday cleaning clay
Rich micaceous slip from the Picuris Mountains
This vessel is almost ready to come out of the fire
The production of a pot is a long process that begins in the high peaks of New Mexico.
The clay is first dug from mountain sources where it is found eroding from Precambrian mica sheet deposits. It can not be purchased in stores. Once mined and transported back to camp, it is cleaned using a gravel mixer and is allowed to dry in large vats. Nothing is added to create the paste. Superabundant levels of mica occurring naturally in the clay act as an effective temper, increasing the thermal efficiency and durability of vessels.
Pots are hand-built using the coil and scrape method. Coils are added one at a time and blended using a scraper to obtain the desired shape. Once dry, a micaceous slip is added to the surface and the slipped surface is polished with a smooth stone.
The finished vessels are fired outside in an open, rock-lined pit. When fired in an oxygen rich environment, pots emerge from the flames with a sparkling gold finish. Gunmetal black is achieved by placing a hot pot into an oxygen starved fire environment. This reduction technique is called “smudging”.
The ceramic is especially suited for slow cooking and baking. Mica makes up about 80 % of the clay. Vessel walls are hard and resistant to physical shock even though they are thin, and the mica in the clay acts as a heat insulator and protects the vessel as it sits in a fire or on a conventional stove. Hot foods in a mica pot stay warm longer.
The clay is first dug from mountain sources where it is found eroding from Precambrian mica sheet deposits. It can not be purchased in stores. Once mined and transported back to camp, it is cleaned using a gravel mixer and is allowed to dry in large vats. Nothing is added to create the paste. Superabundant levels of mica occurring naturally in the clay act as an effective temper, increasing the thermal efficiency and durability of vessels.
Pots are hand-built using the coil and scrape method. Coils are added one at a time and blended using a scraper to obtain the desired shape. Once dry, a micaceous slip is added to the surface and the slipped surface is polished with a smooth stone.
The finished vessels are fired outside in an open, rock-lined pit. When fired in an oxygen rich environment, pots emerge from the flames with a sparkling gold finish. Gunmetal black is achieved by placing a hot pot into an oxygen starved fire environment. This reduction technique is called “smudging”.
The ceramic is especially suited for slow cooking and baking. Mica makes up about 80 % of the clay. Vessel walls are hard and resistant to physical shock even though they are thin, and the mica in the clay acts as a heat insulator and protects the vessel as it sits in a fire or on a conventional stove. Hot foods in a mica pot stay warm longer.
The beautiful swirling black designs on this finished pot are called “fire clouds” by Pueblo potters. They are created where wood and bark are allowed to rest against the vessel during firing. The pattern is unpredictable but stunning.
A gunmetal finish is achieved by smuding a hot vessel in a reducing atmosphere.
Vessels are formed and finished my Redding studio
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