The Potter's Wheel

     Pottery is one of the most ancient arts that has come a long way since history.  Even today the potter's wheel is used to make the  the traditional gamlas (flower pot)  and ghadas (the oval shaped pot) .It's amazing to see how a potter's hands work on his wheel  and the patience of the potter in masterfully shaping the desired piece out of clay.

     In a process called "throwing" , a ball of clay is placed in the center of a turntable, called the wheel-head, which the potter rotates with a stick, with foot power or with a variable-speed electric motor. During the process of throwing, the wheel rotates rapidly while the solid ball of soft clay is pressed, squeezed and pulled gently upwards and outwards into a hollow shape. The first step of pressing the rough ball of clay downward and inward into perfect rotational symmetry is called centering the clay--a most important skill to master before the next steps: opening (making a centered hollow into the solid ball of clay), flooring (making the flat or rounded bottom inside the pot), throwing or pulling (drawing up and shaping the walls to an even thickness), and trimming or turning (removing excess clay to refine the shape or to create a foot). (Excerpt : wikipedia)
 

 All pictures taken at the Dune .