handcrafting with porcelain - The Artisanal Journey

Each porcelain light is meticulously handcrafted across multifaceted stages of development by a two person team in Melbourne - Sarah Tracton and Dr Ian Watkins. Porcelain translucency produces a celestial glow when internally lit. Firing thin sheets of porcelain involves assiduous control due to friction against the kiln shelves during heating, and the necessity of even cooling. Sarah’s handcrafting process involves a niche, specialised technique of pouring liquid porcelain clay infused with coloured stains, onto plaster slab. The slip is poured layer by layer onto the slab, then the sheets are peeled away. The sheets are hand wet/dry sanded, brushed with clear glazes and fired twice final to stoneware temperatures of 1280 degrees. Each sheet's unique surface qualities and warping result from the unpredictable firing process, necessitating customised manual assembly onto the lighting framework.