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When you send me your tail hairs, it is a very short
turn-around time. I get them out on average in three days.
I throw the pots on the
wheel, let them get leather hard and trim them. When they are bone dry, I put a very fine clay slip (up to 5 coats)
on the pot and burnish it to a soft sheen. I then fire them to about 1600 degrees. When you select a pot,
I re-heat it to about 900 degrees and pull it out of the kiln and lay your horse hair on it. You know what happens
when you burn hair, besides stink, it wiggles and squiggles all over the pot, leaving dark carbon lines and smoke tracings. After
the pot is cool, I clean it, let it dry completely and then put 3-4 coats of wax on it and buff it to a soft gloss.
Each one is different due to the condition and length of the hair (tail hair is really the best), the thickness of the
pot walls, the outside temperature and the exact temperature the pot actually gets to. It is a little like
Goldilocks fairy tail. If it's too cool, the hair won't leave dark enough lines, if it gets too hot, the heat
just blows the hair away from the pot. If it is just a little too hot, the contraction of the burning hair on
the pot will crack it. It has to be just right! It is a very serendipitous firing and I think quite
beautiful.
I enjoy playing in the clay and making a beautiful pot and making a memory of your special
horse in something you can display in your home. Every pot is different. Due to Murphy's Law, about one in 60
will break in the firing process. I always try to save a little hair back in case we have to make a second choice.
Some of you only have access to a small amount of hair from a past loved horse and I don't want to lose it all. I will
also engrave the name of your horse on the bottom of the pot. All of my pots are different, due to my throwing skills (or lack thereof) or my adult attention deficit, I
don't do any two that are exactly alike. I'm happy just letting the clay tell my fingers what it wants to be.
So what you see on the pages of blank pots is what I have on hand at the time.
I ship by US Postal service,
usually parcel post, it is the most economical. Because I am so reasonable on my prices, I ask you to pay the
postage. I pack them very well and have had no breakage, so far. I don't ask you to pay until you receive
the pot intact and like it. When I get it mailed, I send you an email with the postage costs and a photo of the
finished pot. I have not had any problems with this kind of payment plan. Horse and garden people
are very honest. I'll do it this way till someone violates this honor system, but you're all just nice people and I
love to hear about your horses. It makes it more personal for me also. You can contact me at: idaray.1@netzero.net (602) 246-0118
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