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Bristol,
Vermont
Pottery
Studio
Established 1972
Work was sold exclusively through
galleries until 1990, when Robert and Christine opened their own showroom at
the pottery. |
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Summer is visitor
season in Vermont,
and the studio is open to all who come to see the
pottery. |
Plantings surround the road side
sign.
The main studio can be seen in
background. |
Studio
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The wet work of throwing
is done in winter,
the off season for the showroomRobert's first pottery in 1972 was located
Moretown,
Vermont.
He purchased the Bristol property in 1973. |
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Main Studio, Packing Tower, and Kiln Sheds. |
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Studio
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| Leather hard Jomon Forms
waiting to be bisque fired. |
The Packing Tower
was built to
store packing materials for shipping pottery.
A shoot feeds "loose fill packing peanuts" into the packing room of the
studio. The tower is a notable landmark
for everyone driving along Route 116 in Vermont. |
Studio Packing Room
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| The packing
materials feed out of the tower into the shipping room of the studio.
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The hose clamp is opened which
fills a box with recycled packing peanuts, insuring every pot shipped
arrives safely. |
Studio Work Room
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As pots
dry they are bisque fired in the gas car kiln,
in preparation for glazing the following summer.
When Spring arrives several thousand
bisque pots are
waiting to be glazed fired in one of the wood fired kilns.
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Studio Glazing Deck
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Glazing is done when the weather breaks in the spring.
Most of the previous winters
pots are glazed & fired by mid summer. |
Summer glazing in done outdoors on
the rear deck of the main studio. |
Summer in the
Studio
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In the summer months, Robert throws large planters and urns.
This allows him to utilize outdoor space to dry the
large pots. |
Glazing outdoors gives fresh
air when glazing larger pieces. |
Studio & Kiln
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Over 1200 pots are glazed in preparation
for firing in the large Noborigama. It takes a wide variety of sizes and
shapes to properly
fill the kiln. |
It takes about 600 pieces to load one of the two
chambers in the wood fired Noborigama. Robert is standing in the second
(Salt Chamber) with glazed pots on racks outside the kiln, to choose from
when loading. |
Studio
Tools
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This "Ball Mill" is a recent
acquisition
and is used for grinding glazes and
preparing slips for Pit Firing. |
In the 1970's Robert consumed 20 tons of clay each year. Mixing
was done
in an industrial dough mixer
Currently he has his clay body receipt mixed
by a large commercial supplier. |
Besides equipment you would
expect in a potters studio,
the assembly of
lamps, aquariums and fountains required a
well stocked workroom. |
Noborigama
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In the
Spring and early Fall
glazed pots find their way to one of the outdoor
Kilns.
The summer
is when the majority of the
pots made the previous winter are fired. Robert's interest in wood firing
has dramatically changed both the homestead and his work.
In the last 15 years, four post and beam structures have been added to
shelter the various kilns at the
pottery.
Opening a showroom in 1990 brought an ever increasing
number of visitors to the studio as well as the showroom. |
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Studio
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Shard Dump After 30 years there are
many tons of broken pottery and discarded bricks at the pottery. Robert
uses the shard piles to fill in a depressions at his homestead. |
Kilns at the Pottery When
Robert started the pottery in 1972 he fired exclusively with propane gas. In
1990 he changed his business from Water Sculptures to vessel oriented
pottery with an emphasis on process driven surfaces.
This lead to the construction of the many kilns and kiln buildings at the
pottery. |
Robert Compton Pottery
2662 North 116 Road, Bristol,
Vermont 05443, U.S.A.
Phone: 802-453-3778
E-mail: Robert & Christine
02/16/08
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