The Most Satisfying Pottery Process

How I make a crunchy lid fit perfectly, wait till the end to see, (and more importantly hear), how beautifully the lid spins in place.

Chemico valve grinding paste is the stuff I use to do this, both the coarse, then fine compound, until the groggy stoneware is polished to a glassy smooth finish.

First though, I have to crack the lid off and remove the waddings that supported it throughout the reduction firing. These little white discs are made from 50% kaolin and 50% coarse alumina hydrate and they’re pressed against the waxed underside of the lid before it’s very carefully positioned on the body in such a way that neither component is touching.

It takes time. Especially now I have some 40 pots saved up that need grinding, and I’ll probably spend an entire day working through all of them and then washing the residue away with hot, soapy water. The difference it makes though is colossal, not to mention you can make lids that don’t even fit correctly, fit.

#satisfying #pottery #asmr #handmade #ceramics