each artist’s shapes, designs, colors and finishes varies widely, reflecting his or her unique regional style and character.

Potters typically begin by collecting clay from local river banks. The clay is worked into a paste, pulverized, sun-dried, sifted and then moistened. Only then may the clay be shaped by the artist. The shaping process is the first of several steps allowing the artist to give his or her distinctive look to the pieces, and artists use different techniques, such as hand molding, casting or spinning to create the piece’s shape.

Artists use several techniques to give ceramics a specific finish. These techniques include punteado, burnishing, glazing, polychrome, monochrome and majolica.

Firing is done in open kilns, which typically are made of brick or adobe. Open at the top, the kilns have one or more openings at the base where fuel, generally wood or kerosene, is burned. Other types of kilns include bell kilns and underground kilns, which have openings or flues at ground level. Temperatures in the kilns may be 800 to 1250 degrees. The level of heat affects the color and hardness of the piece as well as the luster of the finish. Once lit, the kilns may burn for several days.