About Us

My name is Fritz Allen. My brother Tim and I have been working with clay for 10 years. Our pottery currently operates with three full time employees in addition to my brother and myself.  We have our Gallery and Studio located in the middle of the Village of Corrales that is open to the public 356 days a year. We have two pottery wheels in our production area.  Every piece wheel thrown or created on the wheel using a slab pressing technique. We also use casting methods to produce some of our finished pieces.  Handles are drawn and applied in a graceful open form to the pieces to allow better access for people's fingers on mugs, casseroles and canisters.

I believe we have some of the most distinct traditional reduction fired glaze patterns in the country. We mix our own proprietary clay and nine different glaze recipes. Each recipe has it's own distinct requirement for temperature, environment and thickness of the glaze application.

We use traditional decorating methods that include dipping the pieces into the mixed glaze by hand and using various brushes to create band and squiggle decorations. We fire to 2400 degrees Fahrenheit to achieve the desired glaze results. We specialize in creating gentle hues of copper iron and cobalt by firing in a reducing atmosphere in our down draft kiln.  We create the unique reduction firing conditions by balancing the natural gas and air mixture inside the kiln so that there is there is no oxygen available inside the kiln. It is this lack of oxygen (preponderance of gas) that removes oxygen molecules from the glaze recipes and creates the depth of color.  We measure gas flow by means of light pressure gauges and valves at the burner.

The air is controlled by means of a rotating air adjustment on the burner and a tile that we slide in and out which controls the rate that heated air and gas mix enter the chimney box.  Firing schedules that produce reduction-firing conditions take many repetitions to perfect. With careful attention to these details, the colors (and the kiln environment) still vary depending on the ambient environmental temperature and pressure.  All kiln operations are manual during the 11 hour firing cycle. We fire approximately 3 kilns per week. Our pieces are microwave oven and dishwasher safe. Because of the high temperature, the fickle nature of our glazes and the unique firing conditions in the kiln few potters achieve similar results in their work.  Every piece is individually signed with our HP logo. Tim and I have lived in Corrales since early childhood.

Our pottery experience came from working at Hanselmann Pottery and in our own studio making architectural sconce lighting and tiles.

We are glad to have had the chance to introduce our pottery to you!

Fritz and Tim Allen
Hanselmann Pottery