Preforming the pots on leather-hard clay in Quế An village. Step 4 : scraping outside cooking pots (1/2)

The potter Võ Thị Sương and her husband, Giang Ngọc Xanh, are scraping the outside of cooking pots. The preform is placed upside down on the turntable. The potter uses her bamboo tool (cái khót) to scrape the outside of the pots. This action both takes out clay to make the wall thinner and rounds off the bottom and walls of the cooking pot. She usually finishes this action by placing the pot on her lap, with the opening facing left. She places her left hand on the inside while her right hand scrapes the outside. This way, she can feel the thickness of the walls with her left hand. While working, the potter is talking with neighbours that came to visit.