Upcoming Art Shows, Markets and Workshops!
Retail Locations
Below are the Colorado stores currently carrying a selection of my pottery:
Lafayette, CO - Local Goods Colorado, 100 W. Cleveland Street, Lafayette, CO 80026
Lafayette, CO - Timbalier, 2770 Arapahoe Rd # 106, Lafayette, CO 80026
Boulder area Eldorado Canyon State Park Visitor Gift Shop, Eldorado Canyon, CO
Best way to follow my upcoming art shows around Colorado and see current pottery coming out of my studio is to follow me on Instagram!! @melissabeckwith.designs
Turn Time
Making pottery is a slow process. I start with wet clay and shape it into the form I want, which can take one or several days, depending on the complexity of the piece. Clay must dry slow in order not to warp and once it is bone dry it is fired in the kiln the first time (bisque) to cone 4 ~ 1800 degrees. I do not to waste resources so make enough pottery to fill the 7 cubic square feet of my kiln. Once fired and cooled, each piece is unloaded and sponged and bottoms waxed. Then glazes are mixed, prepared and carefully painted/dipped onto the bisqued pottery pieces. The pottery is tediously loaded back into the kiln for the 2nd and final glaze firing (~2100 degrees) where the clay is heated to its mature temperature to ensure permeability and food-safe quality. This glaze firing takes ~9 hours to get to temperature, then another 12-24 hours to cool before I can unload each piece again and carefully inspect for any flaws or defects before I sand the bottoms and consider them complete.
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