firing the clay
finished votive
The clay from the lot that I’d worked into a little votive shrine for the entrance wall of the house has finally been fired. After a friend told us that we could just find one of the ceramichisti to fire it for us, we went to the only one we’d seen around the area just to ask.
Since so many parts of Italy are known for their terracotta tiles (from uses like rooftops to kitchenware, to interior floors and garden pots), there are bound to be several in the area, but only one came to mind. So one day a couple of weeks ago on the way to visit a winery with some friends, we were passing by this forno and went ahead and brought the undried, sculpted votive. It seemed a bit strange pulling up to this factory which is more of a working factory rather than a storeroom open to the public, and asking if they’d fire this small little votive - not knowing if it would be a super strange request or something they wouldn’t blink an eye at.
Luckily they couldn’t have been friendlier. They didn’t hesitate when asked to say ‘sicuramente. senza problema’ and even if it’s not a question they’re asked everyday, they certainly didn’t seem like it was a strange request. They said they were firing tomorrow and it would be ready the following week. Then they handed me a terracotta tile to lay it down on and then placed it by the floor full of of tiles which were to be fired the same time, and also offered me more clay if I needed it.
It was so interesting to see just a few workers there, and two at the time had huge lumps of the grey clay on a table, where they were filling tile-shaped molds, smoothing out the tops, and then placing them brick by brick onto the factory floor. Not an automated machine in site, as it’s all handmade and one could imagine this exact scene even hundreds of years ago just in a slightly varied setting rather than a steel structure. Otherwise, manually filling metal and wooden molds, and then firing in a large kiln is essentially what people have been doing here for ages.
They had a few large garden pots as well, and I spoke to them about commissioning some for the courtyard with the ‘terracotta nera” black terracotta which usually is more of a mix of dark warm greys and a rich brown.
When we left we drove to the nearby winery, which was an amazing piece of architecture (which I was as excited to see as i was about tasting the wine) and they said that all of the floors (inside and out) were done by this same terra-cotta company. So it was beautiful to see their finished product in place.
A week later, we went by to see the final piece after it had been fired. I’d not held onto too much hope that it would have made it. Since this was my first attempt, and more than likely I’d left some unknown air bubbles inside or worked with inconsistently mixed clay, the final product could have cracked or exploded in the kiln. Luckily as soon as we walked it, they had it sitting on a stack of bricks and it had made it out alive! Firing it had made it shrink around 15% and the color had changed to the traditional orange-earth color. But besides a couple of superficial cracks, it was a healthy and sturdy votive. Of course the lumps and bumps of this primitive piece show up even more now, and in some ways I don’t mind that it displays the imperfections.
They wouldn’t let us pay anything, and just said to keep them in mind for any projects I may need - which I very happily will! And as we left I snapped a photo of the ‘votiva edicola’ that they have at the factory entrance. I guess they understand my want for one as well.
I’m working on another one now that I will let to air dry, which will retain it’s lighter grey color, and it lets me practice the technique a bit more. Either way, I’m looking forward to this clay finding its way back to spot in which it started - just in a new and renewed form.