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the Tradition
The Potting Shed - 1977-2009
Over Thirty Years Of Quality, 100% Hand
Crafted Pottery Products Specializing In The Dedham Pottery Tradition.
For over thirty years, the Starr family in West Concord, MA has been
making quality Dedham Pottery-like reproductions.
The Potting Shed's Production
Process
Clay Mixing: The Potting Shed's production
process begins with a 1200 gallon mix of liquid clay requiring 6000
pounds of clay from Kentucky and Tennessee, 4000 pounds of talc from
upstate New York and Vermont, suspension agents and over 500 gallons of
water. The mix produces a "slurry" that has the consistency of
a moderately thick syrup. In the pottery industry, this slurry is called
"slip".
Casting: Eighty-five percent of our shapes
are formed in a process called "slip casting". The process
requires three main elements: plaster molds, clay slip and time. Each
morning, the molds are filled with the slip and allowed to
"set" for a specific period of time. As the filled molds set,
the inner edge of the plaster mold absorbs water from the clay closest
to the mold walls. The absorption produces a coagulated layer of clay on
the inner surface of the mold. The longer the slip-filled molds set, the
thicker the coagulated layer becomes. At the end of the setting period,
the molds are inverted, the uncoagualted clay is emptied from the molds
and recycled for use in another casting. The coagulated layer adheres to
the inner mold walls and is allowed to dry/harden for several hours.
Once adequately hardened, the castings are removed from the mold and set
on carts to air-dry over night. The dried, buff-colored castings, called
"greenware", are hard enough to handle carefully but fragile
enough to easily break if not handled properly.
Cleaning: Once thoroughly dried, we
carefully remove the seamlines left on the ware by the casting process,
smooth the product's surface(s) and complete any other remedial work
required to transform the items from their roughed-out cast condition to
finished quality - ready for painting. Once prepped, the various
decorative patterns are 100% hand painted on the pieces by our our
skilled artists. Interested customers who have toured our production
process are amazed that we do not utilize decals, stencils or
mechanically assisted decoration - just the trained eye and the steadied
hand of our artists. Every painted item is personally signed by the
artist, dated, inscribed with The Potting Shed's logo - a star - then
marked with the product code. We also mark each of the pieces
"USA", proudly attesting to our domestic heritage.
