Throwing a Pot

In order to appreciate the fine work of Nicaraguan artisans it is important to be able to understand the process that each artisan employs that results in the final product. Darwin Calero is an artisan from San Juan de Oriente, a small artisan village outside of Masaya, Nicaragua.

The following photos document Darwin as he prepares the clay and gets ready to throw one of his pots. Before actually reaching this point in the process Darwin must purchase the clay and sand to mix with it in order to reduce the likelihood of breakage in the firing process; he then prepares the clay further by compacting it with his hands and forming balls which have a specific weight depending on the size of the piece he wants to make.

Darwin begins by taking out the already formed clay ball. He then slaps it together in his hands in order to make sure there are no remaining air bubbles.

Now Darwin must center the clay on the wheel, he very lightly hits it from side to side until it is on the center of his wheel.

 The piece then begins to take a cylindrical shape as Darwin pulls it up out of it's ball shape that was put on the wheel.

Next the piece is flattened against the bottom of the wheel, this helps to remove more air bubbles and allows Darwin to ensure the thickness of the bottom of the pot is appropriate.

Darwin begins to build the walls of the pot out of the flattened bottom.

Darwin now pulls out the side of the pot that will create the form of the pot.

The pot begins to take on it's finished shape. The white pillar is an invented tool that is held down on the table by clay. The two bicycle spokes that are also held down by clay are in place to ensure that all the pots will turn out the same size. The lower spoke comes to the middle of the bump and the higher one is where the top of the pot should reach.

Darwin begins to define the lip of the pot with a sharp piece of plastic.

The final touches are put on the pot and the lip is now well defined by Darwin's fingers.

The finished product is a well thrown pot. Because each pot is handmade there are slight differences between them, but the overall shape and size of each pot is almost exactly the same.

Darwin's process has really just begun. After throwing the pots he then paints each pot with two different kinds of clay, each coating is applied multiple times. This helps to seal the pot and prepare it for the painting process. In between each coat of watery clay he also must shine the pot with a piece of hard plastic. This helps to ensure that the surface is flat and has no air bubbles. When the pot is finally ready for the paint Darwin meticulously hand draws the design that will go on each pot and then painstakingly carves the design into the surface of the piece. In between each of these processes there is downtime when the pot must dry, a challenge in the rainy season, and the potter is always making sure it doesn't get too dry, a challenge in the dry season, as the pot will crack.

If the pot makes it through each of these stages it is then ready to be fired. A process which represents yet another challenge because if one pot explodes due to air bubbles in the clay it can break other pots in the oven as well. When they are finally completely ready for sale the artisan now encounters one of the most challenging aspects, finding a buyer that will pay a fair price.

Below is a picture of the final product of Darwin's work.

 (Process pictures courtesy of Rachael Hanley)