General Info

I am pleased to bring you this web-site. I hope viewing and understanding my work will be as easy for you as if you dropped by the pottery or stopped in my booth at a fair. When I make a display for a show, I have flower arrangements and blooming plants to give some ideas of how the pots can be used. I set up vases in one area and planters in another so it is not so chaotic. In the display, I group pieces together by style so it is easy to compare size and proportions. I keep an assortment of empty plastic nursery pots to help people decide which is the right size planter for a particular plant. These are things I have tried to do here. But I know that looking at a web-site is not the same. No matter how hard I work to take better photographs, a picture will never be as good as being able to pick up a piece of pottery to feel its weight and balance or the smooth texture of the glaze. Here are some of the things customers tell me when they see the pots in person for the first time: ' The piece feels so good, I just like to touch it, ' ' Your photographs don't do justice to the work, ' and ' This is even nicer in person.' If you don't have the opportunity to see my work first hand before you order, don't worry. If you are disappointed in any way, you can send it back for a refund or an exchange. Back to Top About Stony Point Ceramic Design My name is Marni Turkel ( pronounced tur-KELL ) and I've been making pots for a living for almost 40 years. I used to make everything by hand on the potter's wheel but about eighteen years ago my wrists said, "No more." I loved my life as a potter too much to give it up, so I started Stony Point Ceramic Design, a small pottery where I can devote my skills to producing a line of fine pottery without having to do the physically demanding tasks. In order to make the transition from individual studio potter to managing a small pottery, I have learned a variety of production techniques and, most importantly, I have learned mold making. I used to think that switching to production with molds would limit my creativity, but I have found just the opposite to be the case. The more I work with and understand molds, the greater the possibilities become. How the Pieces Are Made Most of the pieces offered in this catalog are slip cast. In casting, slip ( liquid clay ) is poured into a plaster mold; the mold absorbs water from the slip which leaves a deposit of clay on the plaster. After a time, when this layer of clay is the desired thickness, the excess slip is drained from the mold leaving a coating of clay which is the ceramic piece. After the piece is removed from the mold, it is carefully sponged to finish the edges and remove any seam lines. When it is dry, it is bisque fired slowly to a low temperature so that it is strong enough to be handled during the glazing process. I prefer hand dipping the pieces in a bucket of glaze ( using a pair of tongs to hold the piece ) rather than the more commercial method of spraying. It takes more time and more skill, but it gives subtle variations in the glaze that give each piece its own character and are a mark of hand crafted work. After being glazed, the piece is fired a second time to a high temperature, which fuses the glaze and makes the stoneware clay very strong. Visiting the Pottery Stony Point Ceramic Design is at 2080 Llano Road Suite 1B, 1/4 mile south of Highway 12, between Santa Rosa and Sebastopol. There is a seconds showroom with great bargains as well as first quality work for sale. The showroom is open whenever we are there working, but there is no fixed schedule. If you are in the area, you can take your chances and just stop by. But if you are coming from a distance or want to be sure someone will be there, it is best to call ahead to arrange a time. Weekend visits always need an appointment. Directions to the Pottery: