Ellen uses a stoneware clay body to produce her botanical themed pottery murals. A continuous length of clay is rolled out flat in preparation for the design process which integrates real leaves, free-form drawing and carving. Depending on the size of the project, this step may take up to five days. The mural is then cut into smaller pieces, smoothed by hand, and numbered to a corresponding diagram. Over the next few weeks, the tiles are carefully and slowly dried until they are ready to be bisque fired. Once bisque firing is completed, the raku glazing & firing process begins. Only a few tiles can be fired at a time in the raku kiln making it a time consuming process that can take up to a week to complete. After firing, each tile must be cleaned, then polished.