When our bus pulled in to Ömürlü Ceramics in Nevsehir, Turkey, we had no idea what a remarkable experience was in store for us. The company, owned and run by the same family since the early 1800s, makes high quality ceramic pottery, dishware and display plaques in many of the traditional Anatolian styles. Their products are completely hand made by a staff of artisans, many of whom are based in the workshop at their retail operation.
We were seated in a small, comfortable demonstration room and, in the Turkish style, served coffee and tea. We were welcomed by a member of the family. He showed us a typical Anatolian wine pitcher, and he introduced us to a master potter for a demonstration of how this type of pitcher is made. One of our group asked how long it takes to learn the necessary skills well. He replied that potters begin to apprentice at about eighteen and generally require twelve years to become fully qualified.
Here, the potter is seated at his wheel, where he has begun making the main body of the pitcher.
When it is ready, he separates it from the main body of clay and sets it aside.
Then he makes the spout.
When it is ready he separates it and sets it down.
Then he makes the base . . .
and assembles the pieces . . .
to make a complete vase . . .
like the ones we saw as we walked out of the room on our way to the workshop.
In the workshop, our host demonstrated the stages of work on a piece of glazed ceramics.
Then we had time to observe the craftsmen at their work on the various stages.
Then we looked at the kiln and several pieces ready to be fired.
Finally we looked at finished pieces in the showroom.
Our gracious host is clearly proud of this piece . . . and rightfully so.
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