Ožaga
Prej je stala sredi vasi skupna ožaga, kjer so trije ali štirje lončarji, kolikor jih je bilo še v vasi po vojni, ožigali svojo robo. Lončar je naredil robe za eno peč, jo ožgal, potem je bil na vrsti drugi in tako naprej. Robo so po navadi izdelovali v domači hiši in jo naložili na deske. Najeli so štiri do pet žensk, ki so deske z robo na glavi znosile v skupno ožago. Mojster je tam vse to sprejel, robo so zložili z desk, jo vložili v peč in potem žgali. Zanimivo je, da so zraven pekli krompir, bilo je zelo družabno, gostilen ni bilo toliko, zato so se ljudje v ožagah radi shajali in si pripovedovali razne zgodbe.
Tale prostor je v glavnem namenjen pečem. Tukaj se roba dosuši in žge v pečeh. V prejšnjih časih je bila sredi prostora kupola, to je bila peč na drva, kjer se je roba žgala približno osemnajst ur. Pokurili so tri do štiri metre drv. V peč je šlo zelo veliko robe. Sčasoma to ni bilo več racionalno, zato smo začeli zidati manjšo peč na zaprti sistem, pa se tudi ta ni preveč obnesla. Leta 1990 smo začeli uporabljati peči na plin, danes pa uporabljamo električne. Te so malo boljše, nastaviš lahko program; zvečer program nastaviš, zjutraj je roba ožgana, čez dan se ohladi, zvečer je postopek končan.
Sam postopek gre takole: najprej je treba robo narediti, jo potem dosušiti in nato na teh pečeh posušiti. Ko je roba posušeno, jo zložimo v peči, naravnamo program za devet do deset ur na tisoč stopinj. Naslednji dan, ko se roba ohladi, jo vzamemo ven, pregledamo, kaj obrusimo, če opazimo kakšno napako, jo umijemo in poslikamo oz. dodamo kakšne napise. Robo potem prelijemo z glazuro in damo še enkrat v peč, kjer se še enkrat žge na tisoč sto stopinjah. Naslednji dan se roba spet ohlaja. Ves postopek tako traja tri dni.
A Pottery-Kiln Shed
Back in the day, we had a communal pottery-kiln shed in the middle of the village. It was used by three or four potters – those that were still around after the war – to fire their clayware. A potter made enough ware to be fired in a kiln in one go, fired it and then it was the next potter’s turn. The potters usually made the ware at home and then loaded it onto wooden boards. They hired four to five women to carry the ware-laden boards on top of their heads to the pottery-kiln shed. At the shed, the potter took the ware off the boards and placed it into the kiln, where it was fired. The interesting thing is that potatoes were roasted right next to the ware. There was a lot going on there. There weren’t all that many pubs and inns at the time, so people would come and hang out at pottery-kiln sheds and tell all sorts of stories.
This space was mostly used for pottery kilns. This is where clayware is dried and fired. In the old days, there was a dome-shaped wood-fired pottery kiln in the middle of the room. The ware was fired in it for about eighteen hours and three to four metres of firewood was used for it. A lot of ware could fit into the kiln. But eventually, this was no longer economical, so we built a smaller kiln with a closed loop system, but it didn’t work out all that well either. In 1990, we started using gas kilns, and now we use electric ones. These are a bit better as you can set a programme; you set it in the evening, you’ve got the fired ware ready in the morning, then you leave it to cool down during the day and it is all done in the evening.
The process itself goes like this: first clayware has to be made, then it is air dried and dried on these kilns. Once it is dry, it is placed into the kilns and the programme is set for nine to ten hours at a temperature of thousand degrees. The next day, when the ware has cooled down, it is taken out, looked over, sanded and checked for any faults, washed and painted with ornamental details or writing. Next, the ware is glazed, placed into the kiln once again and fired at a temperature of 1100 degrees. The next day, the ware is left to cool down. The whole procedure takes three days.