For a talavera masterpiece, life as starts as nothing more than dried clay.
Powdered dry clay is mixed with water and kneaded by hand until it's elastic and workable.
The wet clay is formed on a potters wheel into the desired shape, whether a plate or vase. The turned piece is left to dry for over a week.
The dried base piece is coated and lightly fired to give the white foundation to the piece.
The design is traced on to the whitened piece using perforated paper and charcol. A special clay-base pigment is used to color the designs. The paint is applied heavily on the main features of the design, giving the unique textured feel of talavera pottery.
Once the coloring is complete, the pale piece is fired to the brilliant glazed finish characteristic of talavera pottery. The kiln reaches temperatures of 1000 degrees celsius during the firing process. No more than 100 pieces are fired at a time.