Process
- As a first step, artists remove silt, sand and pebbles from the clay to make it suitable for the craft. This is done by breaking the lump of clay and making it into finer and powdered grains and also refining it by removing the sand particles either by hand or by using a sieve. After the clay is refined, the next step is to add other raw materials such as fine river sand and water.
- Mixing is done by hands if the quantity of the clay is less, but if the quantity is more then potters prefer using their legs. The mixing of clay is followed by the wheelwork, which is mainly done to make the basic shapes such as a cone, cylinder etc., which acts as the main component of the items to be made.
- The drying of the product made on the wheel is an important step. The drying is mainly natural drying and it takes around a day or two for the product to become ready for the next step. When the wheeled products are partially dried, they are assembled by hand to give the basic structure and shape. Motifs are next designed on the semi-dried product by hand and bamboo tools called Chhiyari.
- After a little drying in the sun, holes are made on appropriate parts of the body. This is done before full drying, otherwise, the inner and the outer surface of the body will not be equally dry, cracks may develop in the body due to unequal drying of the inner and the outer portions. The products are then dried naturally
