The Process: From Clay to Kiln
It starts as a wet, grey lump of earth. Through messy hands, quiet focus, and a bit of fire, it becomes a part of your home. Take a peek into how we make magic happen at The Janbo.
Trimming a piece on the wheel. This is a crucial step to refine the base and shape of a pot after it has hardened slightly.
Unboxing day! The excitement of receiving new underglazes, onglazes, and stains is like being a kid in a candy store.
A freshly hand-built piece, a leaf-shaped dish, resting on a board with its tools. This is the beginning of its journey.
Molded from the earth, shaped by the soul. A close-up of the trimming process, where shavings of clay fly off the spinning pot.
A beginner-friendly tip on wedging: think of it as a warm-up for your clay to remove air bubbles and ensure a smooth texture.
A top-down view of hands shaping a bowl on the wheel. The process is a symphony of texture and tone.
Hands pressing into a lump of clay on the wheel, the very first step of centering before pulling up the walls.
A look at the properties of our Stoneware White Body Clay and its optimal firing temperature, Cone 8.
A beginner tip on scoring and slipping. Always scratch the clay and add a bit of water before attaching pieces to prevent cracking.
The art of making a lidded jar from a single piece of clay, slicing off the top to create a seamless match.
About The Process: From Clay to Kiln
Making pottery is not just about the three hours you spend at the wheel; it is a waiting game. Because we fire our stoneware in a kiln at 1200°C to make it durable and food-safe, your creations need about four weeks to go through the drying, bisque firing, glazing, and final firing process. It is a slow, quiet transformation, but holding that final, finished mug makes the wait entirely worth it.
From Mud to Masterpiece
At The Janbo, we treat the studio less like a classroom and more like a sanctuary. When you sit at our electric wheels on Sarjapur Road, the first step is always wedging. Think of it as a warm-up for the clay. You knead it to remove air bubbles, ensuring the texture remains smooth when the wheel starts spinning.
Once the clay is centered, the conversation begins. Centering is about finding your own balance as much as it is about the clay's. We then move into pulling the walls, where pressure and speed create the form. It takes practice to not collapse the walls, but that is the beauty of it. If it gets too thin or thick, you simply collapse it, re-wedge, and start again.
The Transformation
After the shaping, pieces need to reach the leather-hard stage before we trim the base to give it a clean foot. Then comes the drying, which can take days. Once bone-dry, the pieces go into the kiln for their first bisque fire at 900°C. This hardens them enough to absorb glaze.
The final stage is glazing and the glaze fire at 1200°C. This is where colors shift and fuse into glass. It is unpredictable, which is why pottery remains one of the most honest crafts I know. You have a vision, but the kiln always has the final word. Whether you are a total beginner or just looking to spend a mindful afternoon, you are welcome to come in and get your hands dirty with us.
The Janbo
I am Madhumita, and I founded The Janbo after realizing that the fastest way to slow down was to work with my hands. My studio here in Bengaluru is built on the belief that clay is therapy, and every piece you make here tells your story. Come over to Sarjapur Road, and let's get messy together.
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