Busy Beehive

09/03/2025

It’s been a very busy day with special orders, a special friends and family group as well as a duo long time friends plates and vases and glazed pieces for the Honeymoon Bay Market this Saturday, 6 September 10-2 pm. Not to mention works of art created by my talented daughter and 5 year old grandaughter.

09/03/2025

Complete…the special pet portrait mugs are out of the final firing and are heading to their new homes. Enjoy your new homes Rocky, Frisco and Tigger! 💜

08/24/2025

These TIGGER, ROCKY and FRISCO mugs are heading into the kiln. These are my attempts at portraits on mugs of some very special furry members of their families.

I have been working for a few days from photos sent to me. The mugs were wheel thrown, bisque fired, painted with underglazes and heading into a second bisque firing (1900 degrees) to set the underglaze colours. I will put a clear glaze on the mugs and then into the kiln for a third time until it reaches 2800 degrees. Each firing takes about 8 hours to heat up and another 8 hours to cool down enough to handle. Including a few hours to paint the images that’s 24 hours of heating up, another 24 hours to cool down and 4 hours painting. Oh I forgot to include actually making the mug on my wheel, drying and trimming.

That’s just in case you were wondering 🤔 how a portrait mug is made 😉

12/09/2021

Handles are made, semi dried and applied to the mugs. These are the thirty mugs that I made on my pottery wheel from lumps of clay.

Every stage of pottery is completed with care as the mugs are fragile.

These mugs are awaiting the correct stage of dryness to be bisque fired.

12/09/2021

At the Busy Beehive Pottery Studio cups/mugs have been the focus this week. There are 30 going through the drying process. Once they are dry enough they will go into the Kiln for the first (bisque) firing. That may take from 10 to 12 hours.

Waxing the bottoms and glazing each pot is the next step. Once the glazing is complete and pots are placed in the kiln it is fired up to where the glaze melts. That may to take another 10 to 12 hours.

After cooling down to where the pieces can be handled (another 10 to 12 hours) the kiln lid is lifted and voila !! the finished products make the long process very satisfying.

12/08/2021

Silver Fox Pottery line can be found at the Swordfern Boutique , 89 South Shore Rd in Lake Cowichan. Handmade mugs, plates and platters, spoons, shot glasses and more created by a Lake Cowichan potter.

12/08/2021

The kiln is empty…..

12/08/2021

11/08/2021

Soap dishes...incense holders......freshly made.