I have been working with clay for over 35 years.  I have always been a functional potter creating pieces that people can use and enjoy every day.  Personally, I look forward to selecting which bowl and mug I will use every morning.  It's like visiting with an old friend especially since I know who created every piece.  Unlike a lot of potters who search for years to find the style and glazes that suit them I found mine almost immediately. The blue and cream glazes that I use and my floral designs have been with me almost since the beginning. I love the almost impressionist effects of these glazes and the flowing floral motifs. I studied Chinese brush painting to learn about painting flowers and use many of those techniques and designs.

All of my work is thrown on a wheel or hand built with stoneware clay. I love throwing pots but it is about the shortest part of the process time wise. After a piece is thrown it needs to dry several hours or overnight. Then it is placed back on the wheel and the excess clay is trimmed off using a sharp scraping tool. Handles are applied and designs are carved if desired. The piece is sanded lightly or sponged when it is completely dry. It is fired in an electric kiln in my home studio to about 1700 degrees F. Next the pieces are all sanded, washed and wax is applied to the bottoms so the glaze doesn't stick to the bottoms. I mix all my glazes so that I know that they are safe for food. The process of glazing my work takes 2 days. First the pot is dipped in the blue glaze. It must then dry for about 6 hours. If I want the dark blue to remain on the rim of a bowl it must have a layer a wax applied to it to mask it. This must then dry. Next the piece is dipped in the cream glaze. The piece then sits overnight. Next the flowers are painted on using glazes and stains.  Each flower petal requires 3 layers of color and it is like painting on chalk dust!  The pieces are then loaded in the kiln and fired again to about 2300 degrees F: a very high temperature to provide maximum durability. The firing lasts about 9 hours.  When the pieces are cool the bottoms are again sanded to prevent any scratching of your furniture.

All my pottery is food safe, oven safe, dishwasher safe and can be used in the microwave. It cannot be used directly on the stove nor is it recommended that you roast in a pottery dish – liquid must be present to provide even heating.  One shouldn't take a piece of cold pottery from the refrigerator and place it in a hot oven.  Preheating with the oven is recommended.

If you visit my web site www.cynthiaaldrichpottery.com you can see that I also do sculpture. My love of the goddess figure has given me great joy and has been an intellectual and artistic adventure for about 18 years. My sculpture, however, is now in the process of changing so keep watching for what will emerge!

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