A “wretched” job made of sacrifice and tenacity. So Elvio Usai, ceramist from Assemini,talks about his work, having spent a lifetime between fresh clay and terra cotta. In sixty-nine years of experience on the pottery wheel, he has seen the material change shape and with it its function: from the jugs for water supply to the annular amphora, a ceramic jewel that his son Walter produces with skill thanks to the education passed down by his father.

Methods and Techniques

From the red clay worked and transformed by father Elvio, to the white clay, vitrified earthenware and raku used by his son Walter for polychrome ceramics, lead-free brilliant enamels and graffiti decorations. The temperatures and the number of baked items (one for the red, two for the white) vary according to the material, respectful of classic iconography and within an appearance of contemporaneity.

The electric and gas ovens that mark the pace of a real revolution in ceramic processing reach respectively 1,100 and 1,300 degrees with a capacity of up to 60 cm in one piece and 1 m over two pieces. In the laboratory located in Assemini, the glazing is performed inside a spray booth for the recovery of the powders.