Glass and Ceramic making in Hebron
Inside the Factory
Glass and ceramic making in Hebron’s Old City is taking place in a quarter named the “Glass-Blower Quarter” and it continues to serve as a tourist attraction. The complex process of making glass and ceramics involves various skills and techniques. A heated kiln is used for the glass production. The process to make a single piece takes almost one week.
One super heated, then glass is molded with clamps and claws to get the desired shape. After working on the glass for few minutes, it goes back into the oven to re-heat it for further blowing and molding. First the clay is put on a pottery wheel and shaped by hand. The next day, after it has dried, the edges are smoothed by hand using water and a sponge.
Ceramics
Different bowls, plates and trays are made with clay then workers paint them with different colours to create designs. In order to glaze them, these plates go inside the oven once more. Even in November, it was very hot in the factory. That’s why there were few fans running to keep things cool.
It requires lots of patience and skills to deign products. These traditional methods which have been passed on to them from their ancestors. Once ready, these beautiful vases, plates and cups go on shelves of the shop for sale. On the shelves, some products were made out of the wood, I presume they were bought from other shops.
