Cindy, maker and founder of Green Cabin Pottery is hand throwing clay on her pottery wheel creating a hand made pottery gift. Cindy is wearing a colourful sweater and an apron.

Step 1: Make It

Each piece of pottery is carefully created either on the wheel or hand-made. I trim the piece to give it a better finish and on mugs, plates and bowls, I create a bottom rim. 

An up close photo of a pottery kiln with a variety of hand made pottery pieces including hand made pottery bowls, hand made pottery vases and hand made mugs.

Step 2: Bake It

Every item goes through two firings in my kiln. The first firing is called a bisque fire: the pottery is cooked, but it is still porous to absorb glaze.

A close up shot of the before and after process of hand throwing pottery and baking it in the kiln. The first photo shows the hand made mugs before they are glazed in the kiln. The second photo shows the hand made mugs after they are glazed in the kiln with a dark blue colour and a nice shine. One of the mugs has a design of Lake Superior, and one has a dragonfly.

Step 3: Glaze It

After the bisque fire, I glaze the pottery with glazes that I make from a variety of dry ingredients. The kiln is then loaded for the next firing. For this fire the temperature is higher, 2232° F. It brings resistance, colours are vibrant and turns it into a non-absorbent item. Once cooled, the bottom is sanded for a smooth finish.