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Blue Ridge Pottery - FAQ's
FAQ’s
or
Frequently Asked Questions
About Blue Ridge Pottery1. Where Does Your Clay Come From?
2. Many Potter’s work here?
3. How do you get your colors?
4. How hot does your kiln get?
5. Do you work here?
6. Why isn’t the big building open?
7. Do you give classes?
8. What about apprenticeships and internships?
9. Do you have jobs for college or high school students?
10. What is a Jigger Machine?
1. Where does your clay come from?
In 2006 our clay supplier is Highwater Clays in Asheville, North Carolina. Brian calls our clay 50/50 as it is half stoneware clays and half porcelain clays. The stoneware part includes ball clays and other clays like bentonite and kaolin. The porcelain is a very fine, white clay giving the overall effect of a tight but plastic body which is good for both throwing on the wheel and using on our high speed Jigger Machine.The clay fires to a very white body at cone 06 and the shrinkage factor (a total of approx. 12.5% during the entire process) matches our complex reduction glaze shrinkage. The clay was chosen for its ability to be used in the micro-wave, oven or dishwasher. When fired to our cone 10 (2300F+) temperatures the clay is highly vitrified and would be waterproof even without glazing.
2. How Many Potters Work here?
Blue Ridge Pottery is a family business. It takes many different skills and jobs to run a business like this. The pottery part of our business accounts for about half of the staff needs. There are three full time Master Potters and usually from 3 to 6 studio assistants who are both part time and seasonal. These assistants are often from our local high schools, community college or four local universities.The Retail and Accommodation areas of our business also account for half our staff needs. Building maintenance, Guest Relations, Accounting, Displays, Cleaning, Landscaping, Buying, Reservations Management and Retail Sales are only some of the tasks which are paid for in your pottery purchase or stay with us. All of our staff are cross-trained to the various aspects of our business. A staff member could be making pottery in the morning, selling and wrapping your pots at lunch time and making your bed at the B & B in the afternoon. If you are interested in job opportunities at Blue Ridge Pottery Call Melinda or Norma at 434-985-6080.
3. How do you get your colors?
Our glazes are prepared from a variety of mineral elements (mostly silica) which when heated to a very high temperature melt together into a thin layer of glass which coats the inside and outside of the piece of pottery.
The glazes include in their very exact formulas, oxides of various materials that provide whitening or coloring effects within the glaze. These elements include chemicals such as copper carbonate, cobalt carbonate, zinc oxide, tin oxide and rutile (includes iron oxide). By themselves these elements do not give the color and in fact when decorated pieces are ready for firing in the kiln the colors are hardly discernable.
During the firing process, our kilns have been specifically built to create a “reduction” atmosphere within the red hot kiln. This means that by limiting the oxygen input into the kiln and increasing the amount of gas, we can create an atmosphere where red hot unburned gas is seeking any oxygen it can find. The only oxygen left in the kiln is locked up in a molecular chemical composition in the aforementioned “oxides”. The heat and atmosphere in the kiln allow these oxides to be broken down with the oxygen part being burned off. This chemical change results in the color change which creates our glazes.
Even though we may glaze a number of pieces with the same glaze combinations many factors will affect how an individual piece color comes out. Location within the kiln may affect the amount of reduction happening to a given piece. Even within individual pieces next to each other there may be variation depending on which is facing the flame direction. Even the weather can affect our colors. In the winter air is denser and has more oxygen in it per unit of volume, this will affect our reduction outcome. Even the wind can affect the reduction happening in our kiln by increasing the venture effect on our chimney opening.
We often tell folks that if you see a piece you like buy it. That particular combination of factors that resulted in the color that way will never happen again.
4. How Hot Does Your Kiln Get?
Our main production kiln is a two chamber, Carolina Flat-top, reverse downdraft reduction kiln. It will hold about six hundred pieces (depending on piece size) and is approximately 100 cubic feet in interior space. The kiln was designed and built by Alun during 2005 and is designed to use an afterburner system which allows complete combustion and use of all the heat in our propane fuel. While temperature may vary slightly throughout the kiln we take the temperature up to just over 2300 degrees F. over a twenty four hour period. It then takes two days for the kiln to cool enough for us to open it. Kilns are often unloaded on Tuesdays and Fridays, depending on weather conditions and the mood of the potters. You can call ahead to check on kiln opening days.
5. Do You Work Here?
Rarely asked when we are:a. covered in clay or
b. holding a red hot brick by the kiln or
c. holding a paint brushOften asked when we are:
a.working in the garden or
b.working in the shop or
c. refilling our shelves with potteryDon’t be afraid to ask if we work here, we are always happy to help get things down or find colors or specific pieces.
6. Why isn’t the big building open?
We are currently rennovating our former Gallery Shop and it will reopen in the Fall of 2007 as the "Golden Horseshoe Inn". Over the last couple of years, Our Bed and Breakfast, Cabins, and Accommodations have become a growing part of the Business. We welcome you to visit us online at www.goldenhorseshoeinn.com to check on our progress and learn more about the Inn.
7. Do you give classes?
Yes we do. Each winter we have offered several weekend two day pottery courses. These have ranged from beginners to more advanced pottery students. This course is for adults who stay at our B & B for the weekend which is set up for this purpose. This winter’s class has a $100 fee for instruction, clay and the firing of two pieces. A Glazing Class is being offered in late April of 2007. Check our website for details on future classes. The schedule for winter weekend classes held in conjunction with our B and B is usually posted in early November for the following Winter’s classes. For more information, please call.
8. What About Apprenticeships and Internships?
Over the years we have had literally hundreds of young people from this community and the universities in surrounding cities come and work with us. Each year we hire a number of part-time students through the fall, spring and winter terms, many of whom stay on for the summer with as summer apprentices. These students may get university or high school credits for working at Blue Ridge Pottery depending upon their major and individual professor or teacher.Our current openings and needs are posted on the Employment page under Information. You are always welcome to e-mail your resume to us at Pots4u2@aol.com. We will keep it on file for 3 months and contact you should any openings come available. If you are looking for a part-time or summer job call us at 434-985-6080 to arrange an interview.
9. What jobs do you have for students?
We have part-time and summer jobs in the many different areas of our business for college and high school students. Over the years we have had hundreds of students work and learn with us, many of these are studying art in one of its many forms. Some have been teachers wanting to polish their skills and be part of a state of the art business. Many have started in high school and continued with us during their university careers.Our hiring for the summer season is usually done in the winter, with many students coming on part time during the winter and spring months. We always have an ongoing need for active young people with outgoing personalities to help in all aspects of our production, retail, and accommodation operations.
Our current openings and needs are posted on the Employment page under Information. You are always welcome to e-mail your resume to us at Pots4u2@aol.com. We will keep it on file for 3 months and contact you should any openings come available. If you are looking for a part-time or summer job call us at 434-985-6080 to arrange an interview.
10. What is a Jigger Machine?
If you look at your plates or mugs at home you will probably notice that they stack evenly and have consistent shapes. They were probably made on a Jigger Machine (sometimes called a Jolly Jigger or a High Speed Jigger. This machine was invented in Britain during the 19th Century and allowed more efficient production of repetitive forms such as dinnerware. It also saved the potter’s hands for the more individual or specialized pieces which could not be made by machine. Plaster casts are made of original pieces and then combined with specialized profile tools. These are used to press clay into the molds at very high speed using both centrifugal force and the tool shape to mold the soft clay. The following day the drying clay shrinks and pops out of the mold and is then trimmed and finished as needed. The jiggered piece then follows the rest of our four week process through two firings and various finishing processes.
Copyright 2007 * All Content the Property of Blue Ridge Pottery
9 Golden Horseshoe Road * Stanardsville, Va. 22973 * 434-985-6080
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