The process of ceramics is a lengthy and intricate one, there is often more involved than first realised.

To start with, the clay must be prepared. This can be done with needing or wedging plastic clay. It is done to remove any air bubbles. This is important, as air bubbles during a kiln firing will expand with the heat and so cause the item made to explode. In turn, the force of the item breaking could cause damage to other items in the kiln.

For throwing (most of Kate Fisher ceramics is wheel thrown) the next step is to decide how much clay will be needed for the item. Weigh this out and pat into a ball shape.

This ball is then thrown to the required size and shape and removed from the wheel. It is then left to dry a certain amount until it reaches a consistency known as leather hard. (It is a state in between plastic/wet clay and completely dry clay).

In the leather hard state the item is then put back on to the potter’s wheel upside down, tapped in to the centre and held in place with plastic clay. The bottom of the item is then turned/ cut off using specific turning tools to sculpt the bottom part of it to tidy it up. A stamp then gets pushed into the bottom and it is left to dry completely.

The kiln is filled with dry items and gets fired to about 1000C. Each of these firings takes 6 to 8 hours.

The following day, when the kiln has cooled, the items are removed from the kiln. They are then dipped into a glaze and put back into the kiln for the glaze firing. A glaze firing goes to different temperatures depending on the glaze used. At the moment the glazes being used are fired to 1060C, which takes between 8 to 10 hours.

The finished items are removed the following day when the kiln has cooled.