I use two main types of clay – for the white vases and bowls I slip- cast with plaster moulds I have made myself using porcelain slip. The larger, hand-built pieces use a brown crank (textured) clay which fires to a warm sandy/toasty colour and is sometimes combined with a little black textured clay. I mix the blue glazes myself from raw ingredients and layer two or three glazes with oxide, crank slip and sand to get a variety of colours and effects. I also use commercial glazes and underglazes.
Each piece is fired up to three times with different layers of glaze and decoration applied between firings. All work is fired to low stoneware (1200). This is low enough to keep the colours vibrant but high enough so that the pieces are no longer porous, so, for example, the vases can hold water and fresh flowers.
The large pieces are able to live happily outdoors but I don’t think they would survive a hard frost. All the work can be wiped clean with a damp cloth, or even use a little washing up liquid. They are not dishwasher-proof.