A DAY OUT WITH THE LIONS – BWARI POTTERY VILLAGE

Building wholesome connections is a vital part of human existence, which is why positive friendships built on maintaining habits that strengthen our core and sanity is a key component that helps us all deal with the different challenges, phases of life which in-turn enables us to progress as a functional unit in society.

Bottom line; we all need good friends to share wonderful moments with and today’s review is my pottery village tour experience with The Lions.

A few of my favorite wholesome activities I enjoy sharing with my loved ones are; Baking & Cooking, Hiking, Restaurant hopping & dinning, brunch dates, local town tour, sip and paint classes just to mention a few.

Quickie: Catch up on our previous blogpost; AMA AWARDS – THROWBACK TO THE 17TH EDITION.

As a culinary artist, I find other forms of art very intriguing which is why the Pottery class & tour with The Lions was very refreshing.

A Little brief about MRS LION…

MRS LION

Mrs Lion has been in my life for almost a decade, being as amazing as she is; shares alot of common interest with me, we both love God deeply, gardening, cooking & caring for our loved ones… a few basis, our bond of friendship is built on.

She loves meals that are intricately as tasty as she looks, and the best part is that I’ve never known a soul that loves flowers as much as she does;

it’s how dedicated she is to such simple pleasures of life, that nourishes the soul, makes me love her the most… so you can imagine how this trip to the pottery village is very important to us both.

Now to the real gist; WHAT IS POTTERY?

POTTERY

Pottery is a form of art where vessels and other objects are formed with clay and/or other ceramic materials, to create objects like pots, cups, bowls, trays or other forms of decorative vessels that are fired up at high temperatures to give them a hard, durable form.

Pottery is one of the oldest human inventions originating from the Neolithic period that plays an important role in the studying and reconstruction of our past which reflects the socio-economic and environmental conditions a culture thrived in according to Wikipedia. And for this archeological history of clay matrix, Bwari Pottery was our landmark.

BWARI POTTERY VILLAGE

Bwari pottery village is a privately owned sustainable business managed by Mr Stephen.

SCENE

Located on old Suleija road, Adjacent Nigerian Law School, 901101, Bwari, Abuja – Nigeria. For better navigation; I’d suggest using the Nigerian Law School as the most suitable landmark in locating the Bwari pottery village.

Opening Hours

They are open all days of the week from;

Mondays to Sundays,

8:00am to 4:00pm.

But I would advise calling ahead of time before making the trip.

The Learning Experience

Like all creative process in life, our learning experience of pottery took us through the various stages of what it takes to create masterpieces with the clay matrix accessible to the Bwari Pottery Village.

Our tour guide educated us first, on the types of clay used for pottery which includes;

• Kaolin ( China clay)
• Ball clay
• Bentonite
• Common red clay and shale clay
• Earthenware clay
• Fire clay
• Stoneware clay

Quickie: To learn more about the types of clay with its uses, click link to 7 Types Of Clay For Pottery as explained by Stefanie.

Despite the variety, Daniel the tour guide stated that the most used in their pottery is Kaolin which he regularly referred to as China clay.

Stages Of Pottery

Next he takes us through the stages of the pottery making using all the traditional techniques which involves five (5) vital stages; I. Making of clay body paste or putty, II. Moulding & Shaping, III. Drying, IV. Firing or Baking and finally, V. Decorating such as glazing.

Filtering & Making Of Putty

First stage involves the making of clay body paste or putty as it is commonly referred to, I found this part so therapeutic as it made me feel like a child again playing with all that clay and enjoying its soothing texture with so much excitement. We had fun filtering the clay and soon moved to the moulding room.

Moulding & Shaping

The moulding process wasn’t as easy as it looked but it was really fun to try, we took turns moulding pieces of heart desire, see intagram for video content.

After which we moved to the drying stage.

Drying Stage

The drying stage is very paramount to acquiring the desired finishing which then leads to the firing or baking stage.

Firing Or Baking Stage

The firing stage comes right after the moulded pieces have been completely aired and dried.

It is very important to have no moisture while baking as this could lead to cracking of the pieces and eventually ending up damaged.

Decorating Stage

The major type of decorating used in this phase is glazing. Glazing is what gives the pieces the final finishing appearance mainly how the colors of each piece is achieved.

After the tour, we ended the day with some grilled fish and ginger sauce, in the picnic area.

I wasn’t particularly fond of the meal but I do certainly appreciate the effort.

Overall the tour was an enthralling experience, One I’d definitely love to indulge in again, only this time I’d prefer to bring my own cooking and grill for the picnic.

Is this a place you would be visiting anytime soon? Do let me know in the comment section.

Until another share,

Sláinte…✨🍃