Shaping a cooking pot (trà) in Phù Mỹ village

Bùi Thị Lệ has prepared a cylinder of clay and placed it on her wheel. Using her left hand she spins the wheel counterclockwise and taps the lump of clay between her two hands repeatedly, from bottom to top, to center the whole lump. Once the clay is centered, she uses a wet cloth in her right hand to shape the pot, while her left hand spins the wheel. To round the walls of the pot, she uses a tool made from a thin strip of bamboo bent and tied into a circle. Finally, she takes a tool made from a wire attached to two small sticks. She holds the sticks in her hands to tense the wire and slides it under the preform to detach it from the lump of clay. She takes the pots and places it on a wooden board next to her.