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In the morning, we took the bus for a short trip to Deruta for a tour of a ceramics factory. Deruta is world renowned for their handmade ceramics. The first stop on this tour was the “throwing.” Throwing is work done by hand on a potter’s wheel. While we watched for a few short minutes, the potter took four chunks of raw clay and turned them into four virtually identical, perfectly formed vessels, in this case, olive oil bottles. This particular factory has only two potters, producing a huge inventory of hand-thrown items. The speed and accuracy of their work was nearly unbelievable.
Amazingly fast potter i
n Deruta. 
In Vino Veritas - "Truth i
n Wine" - meaning that if you drink too much wine, you may say things that you would not otherwise have said... 
"In Terre" (Green ware) dry naturally (to a grayish color) in the open air before firing.
When the ceramic is cooled, it is dipped into "Smalto, a fast drying liquid glaze.
Coating is important because the glaze mixes with the paint to determine color and texture.
The colorful Deruta pottery reminds me of Spanish or Mexican pottery, but with a definite Italian touch. In the gift shop, nearly everyone bought some Deruta ceramic souvenirs, wine corks, olive oil spouts, bowls, coasters, pitchers. (Hummmmm… this must be what “deep” storage on the bus is for….)
Later we got to watch the artists or painters (Il Pittore) make their magic and turn the bland gray clay into beautifully decorated pieces of art. We saw lots of freehand painting as well as a stenciling technique called pouncing or "Spolvero" . To pounce, the artist taps a bag of coal dust” against a template to perform the pattern transfer onto the ceramic.
As we moved through the factory, we saw the dipping or coating of the plates, spraying glass dust onto some pieces so that the glaze would adhere more evenly, and the oven for firing (a pretty hot time was had by all).
Coating also ensure a uniform quality and fills any of the small imperfections.
Baking turns the gray ceramic to red (or terracotta). These pieces are known as "Biscotto" or Bisque.
Many of the freehand artists hold their paint hand steady with their other hand.
Some of the artists sketch freehand designs
There's a wide variety of finished ceramics.
Wine corks and olive oil spouts make great gifts.
Deruta ceramics are known worldwide.
The artists can wipe out mistakes easily with their fingers, because of the chalky "Smalto" coating.
Other artists work on freehand paintings alongside the ceramics.
An artist "pouncing" a design. The fine powder helps keep the paint colors from spreading or mixing into each other.
More freehand sketching.
There are many different designs.
More pouncing or "Spolvero".
And some pretty big...
This jar is for olive oil.
Finished painting and ready for the final firing.
Some pieces are pretty small...
The artists work hard.
Glass dust is sprayed onto some small pieces to help with adhesion.
The first and second firings are at 750 degrees. Pretty hot.
The coating dries quickly and it ready to paint.
Back on the bus, Karin gave each of us a small souvenir of Deruta ceramic (ceramic refrigerator magnets, wine corks, etc).
