Each piece of Pasca pottery is hand made at Molly's home studio in Durham, NC. Molly makes both functional and decorative pottery.
Most of Molly's work is thrown on the potter's wheel and is often altered. Because they are hand made, many pieces are one-of-a-kind. Even when pieces are made as a set, often there are subtle differences which make each piece unique. Every piece of Pasca Pottery is made with care and goes through at least 6 stages before it is finished.
Most of Molly's pieces are fired in an electric kiln. She uses both stoneware and porcelain clay bodies. She likes simple glaze colors, which she mixes herself. The raised slip decoration is put on the pots when they are still wet.
Pasca Pottery's functional work is dishwasher, microwave and oven safe when treated with care.
In addition to her functional pottery, Molly loves the excitement of firing raku pottery. The firing process takes her outside to a propane gas kiln. Once the kiln reaches 1900 degrees Fahrenheit, the glowing pots are taken out of the kiln using tongs, and placed in a can with newspaper. The paper ignites. Then a cover is placed over the can to starve the fire of oxygen. The fire, hungry for oxygen, takes the oxygen from the glazes, thus a chemical reaction takes place and the result is a rainbow of color. The smoke from the fire also creates beautiful black crackle lines in the white glaze.
Pasca Pottery's raku pieces are decorative only. They are not meant to hold water and are not safe to be used with food. To use raku pottery for fresh flowers, first line the vase with a glass or plastic container, then fill the jar only with water. (Olive and pickle jars work great!)
Pasca Pottery also offers Summer Pottery Camps, Clay Birthday Parties, Wedding Registry, Group Lessons and Private Lessons. Molly has been teaching for over 7 years at the Durham Arts Council, and has given workshops in California. April, 2003, Molly traveled to Japan and had a showing of her work. Molly will also have a show at the North Carolina Crafts Gallery, Carrboro, NC in October, 2003.
