Preforming on leather hard clay in Thanh Hà village : scraping the lids and making the handles

The lids have been let to dry for some time after being fashioned on the wheel. Just like for the pots, Nguyễn Thị Thủy places them back on the wheel (here, the electric wheel) to be shaped. The lids are placed on a ring of wet clay placed on the wheel. It will keep the lids in the right place throughout the process.Nguyễn Thị Thủy starts by scraping the outside of the lid to make a regular surface. Then, she places a small ball of clay (3cm large) on top of the lid. Using her left index finger on it, to flatten it, she uses her thumb on the side to join it with the lid and her index finger in the middle to that she presses down to create a hole in the center. Using her right index in the hole and her right middle finger on the outside, she draws up the walls of the small handle. Finally, she uses her fingers to curl up the rim of this cylindre to give it it’s final shape, that will be easy to hold and pick up.