Handmade Pottery

All of the work at Brenda McMahon Ceramics is handmade pottery. Though some “tools” are used, the main tools are the hands of the potter and the potter’s wheel. The spinning of the potter’s wheel and the forming of clay is magical to watch.

Brenda tosses a soft ball of clay on the center of the wheel and as the wheel is spinning she provides enough pressure to create the shape she wants. Initially it takes a remarkable amount of pressure and force to move the clay, but once the shape takes form, a great deal of delicacy and slight touch will alter it dramatically. The art of hand made pottery is knowing how and when to alter the touch of the hands to achieve these elegant and simple forms.

Visitors to Blue Moon Gallery are welcome to come into the pottery and see Brenda creating her saggar fired vessels. You may catch her on one of two wheels. She uses an electric wheel to create each handmade vessel and a kick wheel to trim and burnish the pieces.

Much of the handmade pottery made at Blue Moon Gallery is decorative. The soft hues of the saggar fire are natural blushes of color on the surface. As a result, this American handmade pottery is porous and not designed to hold water.

Brenda McMahon
2242 Route 113 Greenwich, NY 12834
518.692.7742
Contact Brenda