How to make pottery

 Before to become the beautiful pottery of Montelupo, there is a long process to create it that can be divided into 4 main phases: modeling the clay, the glazing, the decoration and then then the cooking phase.

Modeling the clay

Clay is mixed to water and model into a precise shape according to what we want to create, such as vases, plates, mugs and so on. For modeling the clay the artist can use his hands or a potter's wheel or other specialized tools.
Then the clay shaped needs to dry or to be cooked for about 9 hours. In our workshop you can see red clay and white clay.

The glazing process

In order to have maiolica the clay should be glazed by being immersed into a special bath of glaze. This process transforms the clay into a shiny waterproof pottery that can be used for cooking and eating, as well as decorations.

The decoration

After modeling and glazing the clay it's time to decorate! This is the most fun part. To decorate pottery you need special colors and lots of fantasy. The colors are opaque and can't be touched until they're baked. As a matter of fact they look like dust on pottery and are going to be fixed by the high temperatures.
For decorating we take inspiration from the classic pottery decorations of Montelupo.

 

Firing procedure

This is the very last process. Firing produces irreversible changes in the body and it is only after firing that we have pottery. The firing procedure takes about 9-10 hours and needs a temperature of 950° degrees. After you have the pottery of Montelupo made by Ceramiche Mori!

And this the result. What do you think?