E AST O REGONIAN
WEEKEND, MARCH 21, 2020
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Josiah Ward trims off a mug’s excess clay on a pottery wheel at Clay in Motion’s Milton-Freewater production facility on March 11, 2020.
‘Each piece is different’
Milton-Freewater business turns out thousands of hand-crafted clay items every year
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
MILTON-FREEWATER — In archi-
tecture, they say form follows function.
Clay in Motion sits at the intersection
of both.
The family-owned pottery studio in
Milton-Freewater turns out thousands of
hand-crafted items per year they describe
as functional pottery — clay mugs, cook-
ware, lamps, soap dispensers, piggy
banks, flower pots and more.
The business was started by Bob and
Corina Neher in 1981. Both had devel-
oped an interest in pottery in high school,
and once they got together they worked
on perfecting their craft.
“To make something one time is some-
thing, but to make it 50 times is more dif-
ficult,” their son, Jeff Neher, said.
He and his brother, Derek, work
with Bob and Corina daily in the ware-
house-sized studio, and other family
members, including Bob and Corina’s
third son and Bob and Corina’s parents,
who have worked there in the past. They
are assisted by several other employees
who help shape, glaze, fire and ship the
pottery.
Right now, Jeff said, they have been
making about 700 pieces a day.
Unofficial employees are the five
family dogs who roam the studio freely.
On a recent day, two sat on the concrete
floor and watched as Bob shaped the
finer features of a piggy bank. When
asked if the canines can be trusted not to
topple breakable items off shelves, Jeff
said it hasn’t been a problem.
“They’re pretty good,” he said.
Some of the pieces in the studio are slip
casted by pouring liquid clay into molds,
while others are shaped using more tradi-
tional bricks of solid clay. They’re fired in
either an electric or natural gas kiln that
bakes the clay at 2,100 degrees, making
them oven, dishwasher and microwave
safe.
After being heated and cooled down
once, workers make patterns on the
clay using a liquid glaze that the Nehers
mix themselves. Many of the patterns
involve dipping one side of the piece
in one color, the other in a different
color, and using plastic ketchup bottles
to squeeze out a unique fingerprint of
lines across the transition between the
two colors.
“Each piece is different,” Jeff said.
The glaze looks flat and light-colored
on application, but after being super-
heated once again, they come out of
the kiln looking dramatically different,
with richer colors and a glossy shine.
The studio also makes lamps using
Raku, a Japanese method where pieces
are lifted out of the kiln red-hot and
placed in a container of combustible
material, such as newspaper, pine nee-
dles or horse hair. The burning, smok-
ing materials create unique and unpre-
dictable patterns across the surface.
On the bottom of cookware, such
as bread pans and pie dishes, the fam-
ily stamps a family recipe that can be
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Curtis Lund wipes down a freshly pressed platter at Clay in Motion’s Milton-Freewater production facility. The company makes
use of presses and molds to shape their pieces before finishing and glazing them by hand.
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Jeremiah Munoz fills molds with liquid clay in Clay in Motion’s production facility in
Milton-Freewater on March 11, 2020.
Ceramic cowboy boots sit in a bin for
sale at Clay in Motion in Milton-Freewa-
ter on March 11, 2020.
baked in the dish. Every piece made at
Clay in Motion also has the Neher name
and the year the piece was made lightly
etched into the bottom.
Jeff said he checks eBay for Clay
in Motion items and has sometimes
found people selling pieces from the
early 1980s, which his dad occasionally
collects.
“It’s kind of funny to be buying his
own pottery back,” he said.
The business’ most popular item is
the handwarmer mug, which allows the
holder to curl their hand inside a warm,
protective layer of clay as they hold it.
Maria Mendez scribes a signature into the
bottom of each mug before it is glazed.
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
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It comes in both right- and left-hand
versions.
Shipping stoneware across the coun-
try comes with some risk, but they
have their own bubble wrap-making
machine, and they use it liberally.
“We had a custom box designed that
fits six of our mugs, so when they ship
they’re pretty tight,” Jeff said.
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan