The Making of Thai-Celadon

It takes skill and time to produce this collectable yet functional art. Thai-Celadon production is a relatively long and complicated process carried out by skilled artisans in Thailand. The most essential aspects of production are the use of the authentic earthenware clay raw materials, proper drying methods, the use of highly skilled artisans trained from generation to generation in molding and design application, and the glazing and firing processes. A small, comparatively simplistic design, either hand-painted or in low relief, usually takes four to six weeks to make. A larger piece in a highly intricate design can take as long as ten weeks. Thai-Celadon's popularity continues as Thai-Celadon defies exporters demanding them to compromise quality standards in favor of profits. Traditional methods are the key to the beauty and consistency of celadon. The methods take a lot of time, but that cannot be changed without sacrificing the quality of its craftsmanship.  Following is a brief guide to the Thai-Celadon production process.

Step 1:  Dried earthenware clay in raw form is reduced to powder and then filtered through a sieve to make sure all elements of the base
             material are pure clay in powder form.
Step 2:  This powder clay is then passed through what is called a pug-mill -- the pug-mill is a hand-driven machine which further crushes  
             and blends the powder clay in order to make it more malleable for structural formation, and in order to make it more solid and   
             dense in its final form. The powder clay is mixed with water prior to processing through the pug-mill.
Step 3:  After having passed through the pug-mill, the now moist clay is left to age for a short period of time in the open air, where the
             aging process takes place through a natural interaction of common bacteria carried by air with the moist clay.
Step 4:  After proper aging, the clay is kneaded in order to remove air bubbles that form during the aging process, and in order to improve
             elasticity and plasticity.
Step 5:  The clay is then ''Thrown-on-the-Wheel'', a term which means that the clay is hand-molded with the help of a rotating cylinder
             which forms the interior of the Thai-Celadon piece. The exterior surface, the edges, and the base are all hand-formed.
Step 6:   After each piece has been molded, it is set aside and allowed to dry, again in the open air, until it gains the hardness and
              comparative consistency of leather. In Thai-Celadon production this is called ''Leather Hard''.
Step 7:   When ''Leather-Hard'' the clay pieces are hand-engraved, incised, carved or painted using often intricate designs and motifs. They
              are then left to dry completely in the open air. When quite dry, they are checked for cracks or defects.
              Note: Although at this point in the production process the pieces are hard and dry, if immersed in water they will quickly revert to
                       the base clay with no form or design.
Step 8:   All pieces passing inspection are then ''Bisque Fired'' in a tub kiln to a temperature of approximately 800 degrees Celsius. At this
              point the bisque-fired pieces are stable in water but are still porous. A second check is made for cracks or other defects.
Step 9:   The bisque-fired pieces that pass inspection are dipped in a special Thai-Celadon glaze. This glaze is usually made of rice
              stalk, bean stalk, or bamboo mixed with the ash of various types of tropical wood. After dipping in the glaze, the pieces are
              allowed to dry.
Step 10: The final step is to fire the pieces, already glaze-dried, at the ideal temperature range of 1,260 to 1,300 degrees Celsius in
              carefully controlled and monitored ovens