Artisan Story :

The pottery is made using a special clay dough that consist of serpentinite stone powder, weathered rock powder and water. For serve ware, quantity of clay is more than that of stone in the mixture to achieve that desired balance of workability, strength, heat retention and aesthetic appeal. For cookware, quantity of stone is more than that of clay as they need more strength to withstand high temperature. The pots are handmade, polished and sundried to remove any moisture content. The dried poetry pieces are arranged in a kiln, a special oven designed for firing ceramics. The pieces are placed in the kiln and covered with leaves/ straws/ cowdung cakes. The kiln is then sealed with clay or mud to create an airtight environment. Once the kiln is sealed, the organic materials inside are set on fire. The fire is kept low and allowed to smolder slowly. The smoke and gases produced during smoldering react with clay, resulting in the characteristic black colour. On completion of firing, while the ware is still hot, the pottery pieces are carefully removed and rubbed with dried leaves of a local tree resulting in the silk like luster.