Decorate
Stencil
All our pottery is stenciled by hand here at Aston. The complexity of the stencil is dependent upon the design, with some using up to 10 separate layers. Whatever the design the decorating process begins with a selection of carefully designed stencils which combine to form every design we offer.
Application
Colour is applied with a stippling technique using brushes we have specially developed for this process. All our colour is applied following the biscuit firing but before the glaze firing, therefore, unlike most transfer based pottery, all our designs sit under the glaze, protecting it from wear and tear indefinitely.
Building Layers
Most of our stencils are separated into multiple layers. The design process sets out how a stencil should be arranged in regards to the overall form and application of colour. During the decorating process, the stencil of a pattern is put together using the appropriate colours. Above you can see how the decorating process builds up two of our popular three stage designs.
Finish
When the pattern has been applied to the biscuit ware, our pottery must be glazed and then fired for the final time. It is fired to around 1200 degrees – a temperature that provides a considerably more robust finish than other earthenware. The glass like sheen that can be seen on pottery, including ours, is the result of the glaze firing. During this process the liquid coating of our decorated products melts to form a tough, transparent covering.
