Gail Pfeifer: Ceramicist

Gail Pfeifer has been a potter for more than 35 years and will continue to do so in her small workshop in Stone Harbor, NJ, as well as at the Ocean City Arts Center during the winter months.

For new work, visit her website and follow Laughing Gull Pottery on Facebook and Instagram @thelaughinggullpotter.

In her own words…

Making a functional and beautiful wheel-thrown pot depends on several things: the materials used, the skills of the potter, and the vagaries of glazing and firing.

While the finished pot may appear to be a simple, functional form, several steps are involved in the process. Each step of throwing a pot on the wheel—choosing what clay to use, centering, shaping, trimming, bisque firing, glazing, and the final firing—builds on the previous step, and all must be done well or the pot—or its function—will fail.

In glazing a piece, for example, much depends on the type of glaze, the skill of the application, where the piece sits in the kiln, what it sits next to on the shelf, and what the final temperature and cooling times happen to be. The same glaze can turn out differently depending on each of these factors.

Every piece of my pottery represents hours of work and illustrates the results of different clay bodies, shapes, trimming styles, glazes, and decorative techniques that can be used.