It starts with the hand
Every pot in this exhibition began as a lump of clay on one wheel, in a converted garden shed.
Wedged, centred, then pulled up slowly. The throwing rings stay where the fingers left them.
A batch of about forty pieces takes four weeks. Most of that time is waiting.
This season’s pots
The current batch
Nine pieces. Each one handmade, so none of them match. Every size is measured after firing, so the bowl you reserve is the bowl you get.
Drawn first, then thrown
Drawn, then thrown
Pencil and ink, before any clay is wedged. A full shoulder, a short neck, a foot it can stand on.
On the wheel the drawing becomes a measurement. The throwing rings stay where the fingers left them.
Then the kiln takes about 12%. Every size in this exhibition is measured after firing.
Then, the fire
Fire
20°C
The kiln, coldGlaze goes on as a dull powder. It only finds its colour in the fire.
One batch, start to finish
About forty pieces · four weeks
- Week one
- Wedge, throw, trimDays 1 to 5. Trimmed at leather-hard, upside down on the wheel.
- Week two
- Dry, then bisqueCone 06, about 1,000°C. Hard, porous, ready for glaze.
- Week three
- GlazeDipped or brushed, feet waxed bare. Tested on tiles first.
- Week four
- Fire, then waitCone 10 reduction, about 1,300°C, twelve hours. Two days to cool.
If it ever breaks
Broken? Send it back.
If a piece from the studio breaks, it comes home to be joined with lacquer and finished in gold. The crack stays visible. It becomes part of the pot.
Who makes them
“A cup should feel right in the hand before it looks right.”Hana Ellison, potter
Made by one pair of hands
I trained in a community studio, then spent six years making tableware for cafés.
Fernhill is a converted garden shed. There is one wheel, one gas kiln and an oak drying shelf, and every pot is made, glazed and fired by me.
I don't sand away the drips or hide the iron speckles. They are the marks the fire leaves, and they are why no two cups match.
- 1
- Wheel
- 1
- Gas kiln
- 40
- Pieces a batch
- 1st
- Saturday, open studio
Bring one home
Private viewing, by appointment
The studio opens on the first Saturday of each month. Commissions open twice a year: tell Hana what you'd like, and you'll get sketches, glaze tests and a price back.
- Minimum
- 4 pieces
- Deposit
- 30%
- Lead time
- 8 to 12 weeks
- Next opening
- January 2027