Pottery the 9th century way

Yes, I took this picture- it looks pretty good for an iPhone huh?

In this town high on the hill nearing the Amalfi Coast are many Italian artisans who make pottery and tiles from mud excavated from out of the hills and manipulated and fired and painted to make amazing works of art. I was privileged to go and visit one of these manufactures who has had this as a family art and business since the 9th century and are still using the same fire kilns and many of the same processes that their ancestors have used.

This is the pile of mud it starts out as

This machine is not as old as some of th others, but it helps form the mud and press the excess lumps and water out.

This is the same machine from another view

Once it comes out of this machine it is disks of clay at the proper consistency.

This "newer" machine helps them wrap it into cubes that they sell to other artisans .

This is what a flat of cubes to be shipped off looks like.

Since the days of their Grandfathers, these men have learned the near for larger production of the Italian Tericotta. Instead of just making clay for their own use they are producing more raw materials including fired tiles for artists to create their own designs.

These are tiles that have been hand cut drying 

After being dried the are lines in the kiln that is from the 9th century and burns real wood fire with straw between the tiles.

This gentleman is glazing each tile by hand to prepare for paint and re- firing.

I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't see it myself.

The tile goes into the kiln larger than it needs to be because it shrinks a little bit, but then still needs to be trimmed to be the right size, and also give a rough edge for grout and mud to adhere to for setting. This man does this by hand and tile after tile is 100% square. UNBELIEVABLE! 

I tell you what my house is has a ton of tile, Floors, walls all over! Most of the houses here are. My house is one of the few that has more modern tiles most likely manufactured by machine, but most are not, most are made like this. I can not believe how each piece has been made . It is amazing.

Traditional patterns that have been around for centuries.

Artisans painting tiles

We were given the opportunity to try our hand at the painting part of making an Italian tile. the first step is to use a velum sheet that has been pierced on the lines that the design was drawn. With a  ball of black charcoal tied with a rag you pounce the powder through the pierced holes and it leaves a paten for you to follow.

I had some help prepping my tile

The glaze rubs off very easily and so does the charcoal so resting your hand is not an option. The paint is made of more colored chalk and is just mixed with water. It settles quickly so either move fast or mix it up a lot. 

getting instruction

It was a beautiful day to sit out under a tree and see the views and learn to make these old Italian designs. After words we had a lovely lunch and a trip into town where they sell many of the finished products. It was a great day of learning and fun!