The pottery that is made at Bushnell Pottery is made of a stoneware clay that is mixed locally to our specifications.  Materials from the mid-west and United States are blended to produce a stoneware that is durable and vitreous.  The resulting pottery is waterproof, microwave safe, oven proof and dishwasher safe.   The glazes used to decorate the pots are unique to Bushnell Pottery and are mixed in house.  No lead is used in any of the glazes.   The fusing of the glazes to the stoneware body results in pots that are a joy to use and will clean up beautifully in the sink or dishwasher.

"Throwing" a pot.

     The pots are “thrown” or formed on a potter’s wheel by Michael.  The process of throwing a pot happens rapidly and any attachments or handles are put on soon after the pot is formed.   If the pot is to receive an embossed decoration, Michael will add this before the pot is too dry.  The following day, after the pottery has reached a “leather hard” stage,  the trimming and carving will take place.  The pots will also be stamped with the Bushnell Pottery mark.   After the initial forming process has occurred, the pots are allowed to air dry for up to a week. 

Unloading the kilns.

     After air drying is complete, Linda will transfer the pots to the kilns for “bisque firing”.  This first firing will be done over night and will drive out any physical and chemical moisture.  The resulting “bisque ware” is an orange-pink in color and will absorb water, but not deteriorate in it...much like a terra cotta flower pot.   At this stage Linda will wax all areas of the pot that will not receive any glaze.  This wax will later burn off during the glaze firing process. 

Glazing the pots.

     The glazing process is a combination of pouring and dunking each individual pot in the buckets of glaze.  Linda mixes these glazes according to  recipes developed at Bushnell Pottery.  The glazes are semi-gloss in nature and result in a surface that is durable and very easy to clean, no lead is involved.  After the wet glazes have dried, Michael will hand paint each pot with the appropriate design.  These designs have evolved over many years...no two are exactly alike.  Please remember that when ordering...this is hand work and each piece is unique!

Glazed pieces waiting to be painted.

     After the glazing and brush work is complete, the pieces are loaded into electric kilns and fired to cone 3-4.  This “cone” number represents a temperature of 2000 to 2100 degrees Fahrenheit.  This is visually past the “red-hot” stage and approaching the “white-hot” stage.  The silica in the glazes will melt and physically fuse to the pottery body, the result is a “stoneware” pot.  It will hold water and will have a distinctive stoneware “ring” to it.   This glaze firing will take up to 18 hours and another 10 hours of cooling before the kilns can be unloaded.  Each piece will have it’s foot ground down, removing any rough spots and smoothing the base.  This entire process of throwing, drying, bisque firing, waxing, glazing, painting, and glaze firing will take weeks.  Each piece of pottery you purchase represents an investment of time and energy.  We hope that the hand made qualities that make up this process will be evident in each pot.