Mountain Arts Pottery is a working production studio in Bozeman, Montana which has three artists who throw pottery (which is the terminology for the formation of a pot on a wheel). For Mountain Arts, the clay process begins by shipping in the clay, which we get out of Helena through the Archie Bray foundation. We bring our clay in at least twice a year, shipping in 20,000 pounds at a time. Because we fire to a temperature just under 2300 degrees Fahrenheit, the clay that we use is a high fire stoneware.

We bring into the studio between 1000 and 2000 pounds at a time so it is available to process. The first step is to run the clay through our pug mill which we built 30 years ago. The pug mill does mechanically what hand wedging does in getting the clay to the same consistency. The other benefit of the pug mill is that it allows us to reclaim the clay that has been trimmed off of the pots so that very little goes to waste.

Once the clay has been measured and cut into lengths, the potters start the throwing process. Each potter has a list of items for them to throw for the day. After preparing the clay, they cut the clay into specific sizes before forming it on the potter’s wheel. In our studio we developed a laser unit that is mounted above the pottery wheel. The laser is really a fancy caliper, or measuring device, that lets the potter measure what diameter to throw each pot. In our studio we work for consistence in the size and shape of each pot. There will always be some variation because each piece is individually thrown by any of three potters, and the atmosphere, the moisture in the clay, and any number of other variables will affect how the pot turns out.

After the pots have been thrown, there is some wait time for the pots to become what we call “leather hard”, which means that the pot still has moisture in it but is still dry enough to be picked up and moved around with out becoming misshapen.

At this point we trim the pots to remove excess clay and smooth the bottom of each pot. Then any thing that needs to be done such as handles attached, medallions put on or slots cut, is completed and then the pots are left on a shelf to finish drying, then are loaded into the kiln for the first firing. This first firing is called the “Bisque” and is heated to a temperature of 1500 degrees F. This process turns raw clay into a form of porous rock. This is the metamorphic change that happens naturally in the earth where the pressure of the crust and heat from the core of the earth changes sedimentary rock into hard rocks. This is the first stage with moderate heat.

After the pots have cooled, they are glazed. The glazing process is all done by hand, and the potters will mix gallons of food safe glaze components with water to allow them to be poured over the pottery. All of our glazes are mixed by hand and are chosen carefully for their vibrancy and durability. After the pieces have been glazed and decorated, the bottoms of each pot are washed off so that they don’t adhere to the kiln shelves. They are then loaded into the kiln for a second firing which goes up to almost 2300 degrees F. resulting in the soft rock composition of the pottery being changed into hard rock. The glazes change into the colors that we see on the finished pieces of pottery.

There are many steps in the pottery process, but the result is a beautiful, functional piece of art that began as a bit of earth and ended up as a mug, or a bowl to be used and enjoyed over and over again.

In attempting to “reduce, recycle and reuse”, Mountain Arts Pottery developed a unique way to use recycled cardboard and boxes for packing our pottery. We use bicycle boxes and cut them down on a table saw to fit into gleaned apple boxes from a local grocery store. As much as is possible, we collect Styrofoam packing peanuts and bubble wrap from local merchants to use in our packaging.

In each box we place an information card with our toll free number so that if there is any breakage, you can call us to get a replacement on the way.

We feel that our job is not complete until the pottery you ordered is safely in your home.

Dave Lockie
Mountain Arts Pottery