About Front Avenue Pottery and Tile

"Working with clay enables me to craft works of art that function in everyday; in our kitchen, on our table, held in our hands, used hundreds of times with family and friends. They are to be used in and to illuminate the endless cycles of life that surround and consume us every single day."

Mary Jo decorating pottery After 10 years of designing and producing pottery for her old business, Stoneware Specialties, Mary Jo Schmith has opened a new business: Front Avenue Pottery & Tile Company. She now offers wood fired stoneware along with fresh colorful tile designs fired at the St. Paul studio.

loading pottery into the kiln Front Avenue's wood kiln site, located in rural Wadena, Minnesota, is visited for several days at a time in the preparation, firing and unloading of each pine and oak fueled kiln load.

Recently, firings have been stoked with pine and oak shipping pallets supplied by Pallet Recycling of St. Paul. Thanks to the owner and staff for providing great recycling use of an often discarded wood product.

The fire box door is opened as the kiln is stoked. Designed and built in 1998 by owner, Mary Jo Schmith (with exceptional help from some great friends!), the Wadena kiln is fired from start to finish in 15-20 hours. For almost the duration of the firing, the fire boxes are stoked every 10 minutes with 4-foot slabs of pine and oak.

Randomly deposited and melting wood ash inside the kiln on the pottery rims and shoulders or inside bowls enhance the hand-painted decoration, making each piece unique and visually textured.

Beautiful ash deposits on the handle. Oxides , such as boron, calcium and silica, once drawn into the living pine are released from the wood by 2300 degrees of heat, giving the glazing luster to the pottery.

A love for the beauty of craft, the science of raw materials and the unpredictable forces of fire keep every pot a new challenge.

Drying greenware. Wood-fired stoneware crafted by Front Avenue Pottery and Tile is wheel-thrown and often altered to produce interesting yet functional forms. Some dinnerware pieces are hand-built from rolled clay. The pottery is always worked in a series; several similar pieces made at one time.

Front Avenue carries on the tradition of working raw clay into quality, functional stoneware that is durable and finely crafted. Wood firing and the studio's playful decorations make the pottery unique!