Andretta Pottery - Himachal Pradesh
The process starts with clay preparation. To prepare that, natural river clay and mountain clay are required. These clays can be found in the riverside and mountain regions in and around Andretta, Himachal Pradesh. After segregation, these clays are mixed in 60:40 proportion. When a product is done using this proportion, that product can sustain heat and give good regular usage consistency. Once the mixture is ready, the sieving process is done. Sieving is a process of separating unwanted stones and regimenting other dust impurities from the lump of raw clay using a Sieve. The Filtered clay is then mixed with an appropriate level of water and made into a perfect recipe for making pottery products. Next, that lump of clay is placed on the Kick Wheel for shaping. The Potter shapes the lump of clay using both hands while the wheel is rotating and makes a basic bowl structure. The shaped bowl is separated from the wheel using a nylon thread. The bowl is kept for drying. The bowl is then turned upside down and is kept on the Kick wheel again, and trimming is done.
Trimming is a process of scraping off excess clay on the product where it is too thick. With the help of tools like Sculpture Scraper, Knife, and Carved Sludge Shaper, trimming is done. After trimming, the bowl is kept for drying for 1 hour. Then slip designing is done using slip trailers and a paintbrush. The designs used here are pre-defined designs. Kangra rangoli patterns are followed in these designs. The designed bowl is kept for complete drying for almost one day. Bisque firing is done after drying.
In Bisque firing, the bowl is placed inside an electric burning kiln and fired up to 750 Degree Celsius. Once the firing is done, the bowl becomes hard enough to sustain water into it. It also helps to avoid clay to get disintegrated. Then glazing is done. In glazing, Silica and Fluxes like Borax are mixed with clay in a proper way to get different colours. Once it is mixed, the baked bowl is dipped into the glaze mixture. Now the bowl is kept for a day to dry again. In the final process, the bowl is kept inside Glass Kiln. Because of firing, the glaze particles melt, and the bowl becomes harder, and the design peeps out in a glazed manner on the bowl.
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