| Lori
Keenan Watts is a potter, gardener, and notorious cat lady. Lori is the
creative force behind Fine Mess Pottery, and makes soda-fired stoneware
pottery at her Augusta, Maine studio. Her work is cheery and whimsical,
intended to bring joy to the every day rituals of making & serving
food & drink What is soda-fired pottery? I'm so glad you asked. Soda firing is
a type of stoneware firing wherein soda ash and baking soda are introduced to
the flame when the kiln is nearly at its hottest. The heat of the firing splits
the sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate (soda ash and baking soda,
respectively) into their component elements, sodium and carbon. The flame
carries this vapor into the firing chamber and onto the pots. The sodium
interacts with the silica and calcium carbonate in the ware (as well any slips
or glazes that have been applied to the ware) to form a layer of glass. It's
fired to a very high temperature - between 2200 and 2400 degrees fahrenheit -
so it's very durable. The
flame
deposits the sodium more heavily wherever it strikes the ware directly,
and
more lightly on the lee sides of pots, making for a delightful
irregularity.
This can be observed whenever one side of a pot is very glassy and
shiny, sometimes with the design softened or melted away entirely.
In fact this is the great appeal of soda firing for many: it allows the
flame
to collaborate in the final result. Soda firing is not for control freaks! But if you love spontaneity and uniqueness and surprises, if you can see beauty in irregularity, check out Fine Mess Pottery here. You can also find Fine Mess Pottery at these locations: Mainely Pottery, Belfast, Maine Lisa-Marie's Made in Maine, Bath, Maine Gifts at 136, Damariscotta, Maine Bay View Company, Saco, Maine Portland Pottery, Portland, Maine Monkitree, Gardiner, Maine
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![]() Stripey Sugar & Creamer Set, $80 | ![]() Dotopia Sugar Jar, $45 | ![]() Blue Blossom Mug, $45 | ![]() Squat Bottle, $38 |