The Journey Of Clay
The first step towards getting the beautiful crockery is sourcing the clay from Jharkhand, Rajasthan etc. Then the clay is processed using a technique called wedging in order to make it consistent and air bubble free.
Now the clay is in perfect condition to start the process of molding. There are various methods through which the clay is given a particular shape; most commonly a hand operated wheel is used to to make simple circular crockery whereas molds are used for more complicated shapes.
After the clay has been molded it is left alone for sometime before going into the kiln. The crockery stays in the kiln for almost 34 hours with temperatures as high as 1100 degree Celsius. The kiln has to operated with caution because if the crockery is not bisqued properly it may be structurally weak.
After the crockery comes out of the kiln it is cooled gradually and then it is given to the talented artists of Khurja. The half done crockery is then hand painted with lead free paint, and each piece takes 2-3 days to be completely painted and designed.
The pieces that have been painted are dried and then glazed. It is done to give a glossy finish to the crockery. The process involves dipping the crockery in a ceramic glaze and then putting it back in the kiln for another 22-30 hours. Now the final product comes out of the kiln.
Each beautiful piece of crockery that you see on our site is handmade by Indian artisans. Each piece takes almost 20-25 days to be made and goes through almost 30 hands to reach you safely.