Story & Photos by Wu Valencia
At 1,200 degrees Celsius, a wheel-thrown cup is being fired in a kiln for the second time. The end result is a beautifully-glazed piece of pottery.
Pottery is a form of ceramic art that has existed since ancient times, with the earliest ceramic pieces dating back to around 29,000 to 25,000 BC.
Starting with a ball of clay, creativity and a dash of practicality, you can create a piece that’s full of your quirks.
We went down to ARUDIO, a local art studio that offers ceramic and pottery workshops like wheel-throwing and hand-building classes — two methods for pottery-making. Under each method, there are different techniques one can master to refine their pieces.
Pinching, cording, coiling, and trimming: these terms may sound foreign to those who haven’t tried their hands at pottery, but once you get into it, things would become easier to understand.
So, what better way to understand a craft than to try it yourself? ARUDIO kindly offered us a three-hour wheel throwing trial class and we were able to make two pieces of work in our time there.
The experience was smoother than expected. The feeling of wet clay running against my skin — rich and creamy! The wheel, controlled by a foot pedal, wasn’t as fast as it seemed either.
Dayana Rizal, who works as both an instructor and for their marketing team at ARUDIO, guided me through the whole process of wheel-throwing. To the 26-year-old, pottery is a craft that requires patience and repetition.
“At the start, you cannot expect to be a natural or professional to make a perfect-looking cup, so it’s really normal to fail at the start. Pottery just takes that long to master and get good at,” she comments with a laugh.
After taking the creations off the wheel, the staff let the pieces dry over one to two nights until it gets to a stage called ‘bone dry’.
Then, it goes into the kiln for the first firing at 800 degrees celsius to get it to a bisqueware state. The staff will then let it cool down, as opening the kiln right after may cause the pieces to crack or shatter due to the drastic temperature difference.
What makes your piece functional is the glazing, which is where pottery pieces get their colours and patterns as well as their waterproof quality. The piece will then go into the kiln for a second firing at 1,200 degrees celsius.
All in all, customers can get their pieces about 6–8 weeks from the date of their class.
“Pottery can be relaxing if you come in with the right mindset,” Dayana assures.
Pottery workshops have been gaining traction, especially since the pandemic, as Singaporeans are looking for new activities to curb boredom.
Felicia Wu, a 24-year-old working adult, signed up for a wheel-throwing trial class for two as a surprise birthday present for her friend in April.
“We fell in love immediately during that short 3-hour workshop. We knew we wanted to do this long term and so we bought class packages,” shares Felicia.
The experience was therapeutic for the two ladies, who could put aside their worries and focus on shaping their creations.
“In other words, we don’t have to think about anything else while we do pottery.”
The levels of passion and expertise may differ from beginners (like me) to pottery masters who've dedicated years into honing their craft. However, in the process of pottery-making, all of us are indulging in the same smoothness of clay and tranquility of the art.
Perhaps what draws people to pottery is creating something with your hands — focusing on that ball of clay alone and leaving the tension and negativity of life behind.
It could also simply be the one-time excitement of getting a peek into the world of ceramic art and celebrating the small victory of making your first pottery piece.
Each of us have our reasons for trying out something new, and in that midst, we might just discover a part of us we have never known.
Maybe, in a fast-paced society like ours, we can consider letting the art of pottery whisk us away into a slower and peaceful way of life — just for a moment.
Click here to watch as Valencia tries it out for the first time: