ISLAMABAD: A pottery-making exhibition was attracting a large number of children from different strata of society which was a 10-day exhibition being held from September 3 till13 at the National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage (NIFTH).
The exhibition was aiming to promote traditional pottery making, create awareness among the masses about this centuries’ old craft tradition, and provide a platform for artisans to use earn livelihood for their families.
Talking to reporter, a pottery maker from Sindh province Ghulam Raees said, “For the first, it has been observed that children taking a keen interest in making pots of various designs”.
He said traditional pottery has been a source of attraction for many local and foreign tourists also due to its decorative nature and attractive designs, engravings reminding the lost glory of the past culture of centuries-old heritage.
Adding, he said pottery, one of the oldest and most widespread of the decorative arts, consisting of objects made of clay and hardened with heat the objects made were commonly useful ones, such as vessels for holding liquids or plates or bowls that could be used to serve food.
He said there were various types of pottery including Earthenware, Stoneware, and Porcelain, dating back to nine hundred years old, these require increasingly more specific clay material and increasingly higher firing temperatures.
“All three are made in glazed and unglazed varieties, for different purposes this may also be decorated by various techniques, ” he added.
He further highlighted that the working of ‘Pottery’ was basically the process of the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which were fired at high temperatures to give them a hard, durable form. Adding he said the place where such wares were made by a potter was also called a pottery (plural “potteries”).
“Turning is the process of finishing the greenware (unfired ware) after it has dried to leather hardness the technique is used to smooth and finish foot rings on wheel-thrown wares or undercut places on moulded or jiggered pieces. It is usually done on the potter’s wheel or jigger as the ware revolves, ” he added.