AWA Studio - Hand Made, Functional Ceramics and Pottery

I was born in West Palm Beach, Florida, however, Dallas, Texas has been my home since 1973 and I consider myself a "Texas potter." In my Argyle, Texas studio, closely supervised by Bella (my much-indulged Italian Greyhound), I create decorative, functional ceramic artwork. One of my retailers calls it "Artware." The majority of my work is “slab built” but I also enjoy throwing the bowls and jars that are sold in my retail store. Each step of the process is done by hand -- one piece at a time. Yikes! Sometimes even I am overwhelmed by it all.

Much depends on how large the piece is to begin with, but here are the steps every single "treasure" goes through, no matter how big or how small:

A 25 lb. bag of clay is sliced into strips and a flat slab is rolled - by hand.
A template is put on the slab of clay and the shape of the form is cut out - by hand.
I sit in front of, literally, hundreds of stamps and “found items” and create a design on the blank clay - by hand.
The flat form is shaped onto a block of wood or Styrofoam, again, by hand and allowed to air dry until it is "bone dry."
The "greenware" is examined and touched up with a sanding block to eliminate any rough edges.
The “greenware” is loaded into a kiln and “bisque fired” to approximately 1850 F. Heat up and cool down take approximately 26 hours.
The "bisque ware" is unloaded, cleaned, and the bottoms are coated with paraffin wax.
The waxed bisque ware is dipped into its initial base coat of glaze (which I also make) and allowed to dry overnight.
Accent glazes are then painted onto the pieces to add additional beauty and color.
The pieces have the glaze cleaned off the bottoms and are loaded into the kiln for their final firing
The glaze firing goes up to 2154 F and takes about 36 hours for a complete firing and cool down.
The kiln is unloaded with lots of beautiful "one-of" ceramic artwork.
Each piece is inspected for flaws, receives felt "feet," a studio sticker and a stock number.

And there you have the creation of a work of ceramic art from AWA Studio!

From beginning to end the time may take as much as four weeks. In this medium, you learn to plan ahead.

While the majority of my production is destined to grace someone's wall, bookcase or coffee table, these ceramic pieces are fully functional unless otherwise labeled. You may use them for food service, clean them in your dishwasher and heat food in the microwave on them. I have dinner service from my production that is used daily, in my kitchen . . . and my sweetie refuses to "hand-wash.".

Thanks for visiting AWA Studio's website. I hope you are currently enjoying a piece of my unique visual and functional artwork. If not, call me for a retail store in your area that carries AWA Studio ceramics. I am represented throughout the United States.

I want only happy customers!!! I have a "no questions asked" return policy and will always take back any purchase for a full cash-back refund.

Regards,

Terrie Robinson
AWA Studio
Argyle, Texas 76226
214/755-0536
terrierobinson@awastudio.com