Fleen Doran

My pots are made to be used and enjoyed in the kitchen and home. I throw and alter pots on the wheel as well as constructing pots from folded slabs of clay. I impress patterns using wooden and clay stamps. Fired to stoneware my pots are durable and intended for daily use.

The kiln takes about 30 hours of stoking to reach the top temperature of 1310°c. The glaze is formed when salt is introduced into the kiln; the sodium from the salt reacts with silica in the clay body or slip to form a sodium silicate glaze. The kiln is cross-draft and wood ash is carried from the fire box through the kiln where it melts onto the pots. The pack of the kiln dictates the flow of the flame through the kiln which carries the salt and ash. When packing the kiln, the position of each pot is considered with this in mind.

The process of packing and firing is well thought out and planned, however the results cannot be completely controlled…the wood is slightly different each firing and even the weather has an effect!  The nature and joy of wood-firing is that each firing is slightly different, making the surface of each pot unique.

After graduating from UWIC with a first class honors degree in ceramics I went on to do an apprenticeship with Micki Schloessingk with funding from Adopt a Potter. In 2013 I moved to The Forest of Dean where I have set up my own workshop. With regular trips back to Bridge Pottery on Gower peninsula, Micki and I continue to fire our pots together in the large wood-fired salt kiln.

www.fleendoran.com