Doña Sophia, in her 90's, demonstrated the craft of how she makes traditional black pottery.
She uses locally harvested clay and creates the pot by punching a hole into a ball of clay and enlarging the hole.
Instead of using a potter's wheel, she uses two plates, the bottom one resting upside down on the ground the other one right side up stuck on the bottom of the new pot. She spins the top one with one hand while using the other hand to shape the pot.
The pot is allowed to dry for two days before the neck is added.
Then it dries a few more days before it is polished with a smooth stone to a shine. She let us try shining one as well.
Decorative designs may be cut into the piece at this point.
Then the pot is fired in an underground kiln using reduction firing, which is where the fire does not get enough oxygen, making the pot black.
These pots are used unglazed as decorative pieces.
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