| Support the Arts, Buy Handmade |
About Our Quality Our pottery is not wheel thrown or hand coiled pottery so we don't charge you prices as if it were. We will be adding some coil built pottery in the future and you will notice a difference in the prices. I do not sell any of my pottery that is not 100% good quality. I also buy things on the Internet and I do unto others as I would have them do unto me. Many of my designs I have a hard time parting with. Each piece is signed and numbered. I try not to make the same design twice. So you get a unique one-of-a-kind artisan piece which makes it truly yours. 100% Satisfaction Guarantee We think you will be delighted with your Bear Paws Pottery, but if you don't like it you can return it for a 100% refund of the purchase price. bearpawspottery@yahoo.com Just send us an email at the above email address and we will walk you through the process Privacy Policy I do not share the information gathered through this website with any other 3rd party. All payment information entered through this website is done so through Paypal. |
| Ceramic Pottery Studio Handcrafted - Hand Glazed Pottery using Earthenware Clay Made in the Heart of Texas |
| We were recently featured in the National Association of Self Employed Magazine |
Bear Paws Pottery |
| Texas Pottery Handcrafted in Texas |
| Our Goals My goal is to offer beautiful, unique, artisan ceramic pottery at affordable prices. This does not mean that my pottery is cheaply made or that the quality is inferior. If I wouldn't put a piece of pottery in my house then it won't be sold to you for your house. Every piece of pottery is made with the following in mind Beauty Uniqueness - One of a kind Affordability About Pottery People often think that "pottery" is only those wares that are made on a potter's wheel. This is not the case. Pottery is a ceramic ware. Major types of pottery, also called white ware ceramics, include Earthenware, Stoneware, Porcelain and Bone China. The places where such wares are made are called potteries. Ceramic art covers the art of pottery, whether in items made for use or purely for decoration. Pottery can be made by hand on a potter's wheel also called hand thrown. It can be coil built where the potter takes coils of clay and winds them around a base, then smooths out the surface before decorating. It can be made by jiggering or jollying which is using a tool to make copies of a master model. Many plates and hollowware that are perfectly identical are either made this way or by the slump/hump method where the potter rolls out the clay and then puts it over a mold to make the plate or bowl. It can be made using a clay mixture with water called slip which is the consistency of pancake batter and poured into a mold. And then hand finished. This is how we make our pottery at Bear Paws Pottery. |
How Our Pottery Is Made At Bear Paws Pottery I use Earthenware Clay Casting Slip either from Mississippi or from Texas clays. Slip is a clay mixture the consistency of pancake batter. Each piece is hand poured into a mold, the mold absorbs some of the water from the mixture and a clay shell is formed on the inside of the mold, then the excess clay slip is poured off, the pot is cleaned by hand and then hand finished with decorations prior to the first firing. This process takes about two to three days from pouring through drying to firing and we can get 6 to 8 pots. This stage is called greenware. The first firing takes one whole day and the kiln is heated to 1955 degrees. After the pottery is fired for the first time it is called bisque. Every pot or vase is carefully inspected for flaws, cracks or rough edges. Then it is glazed by hand. Glazing can take several days because we put 4 to 5 coats of glaze on each piece and when we use multiple colors each color needs to dry before the additional color is added. Once each piece is completed then the piece is loaded by hand in our kiln to be fired a second time. The second firing is heated to 1855 degrees and takes another whole day to complete. |
I finish each pot after it comes
out of the kiln the second
time with natural stone
nuggets, silver beads and
feathers to make them truly
unique. Occasionally I will add
a 5% Gold overlay on my
designs or I customize them
with information as shown on
the rustic jugs which then
requires a third firing.
out of the kiln the second
time with natural stone
nuggets, silver beads and
feathers to make them truly
unique. Occasionally I will add
a 5% Gold overlay on my
designs or I customize them
with information as shown on
the rustic jugs which then
requires a third firing.
| Home About Our Pottery Vases Jugs Pitchers Pots Dinnerware Idea gallery Texas Antiques Trading Post Links Pottery Policies Bear Paws Pottery P.O. Box 770 Brookesmith, Texas 76827 325-642-3277 Caren Williams Artist & Owner email us |
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