Making Biodegradable Urns

My pottery studio changes here in summer. One large work table at the south facing window is designated to making biodegradable urns. It's quite a different process from my regular pottery making process. The table is cluttered with large sheets of colorful papers that I have painted. These papers get cut into various shapes and soon become the patterns on my biodegradable urns. 

I love the immediacy of color when I making these urns. Since the urn is not fired in a kiln, it allows me to decorate the urn quite differently then if the urn were fired and glazed.

Biodegradable Clay Urns are made from recycled clay blended thoroughly with recycled paper pulp. This combination of clay and paper pulp make for an extremely strong bond which acts like woven material when the clay is wet. As the fiber and clay dry it becomes extremely hard and durable yet able to degrade naturally when it gets wet.

Below are some photos of the process. It starts with a thrown lidded jar. Papers are cut and added to the urn. This particular urn is a quilt pattern. The finished urn then needs to sit for a couple of weeks to completely dry before is is coated in beeswax. It is then ready to go to it's new home. To see the finished biodegradable urns ready for purchase visit my shop page here.