Artistic industry decorating

Pottery is an important part of the plastic art being an ancient artistic industry that has been used to decorate churches, mosques and palaces. Pottery is a mixture of clay, water and fire. Argil, a special sticky type of clay, is broiled in special ovens after being shaped into pieces and then the pieces are covered with a layer of gypsum and they are decorated with a glassy material called enamel. Colors used in painting pottery pieces should endure high temperature raging between 850 and 1200 degrees. The number of professional potters in Syria does not exceed seven, including Mohammad al-Hussami, Rafaat al-Saati and Amal Mraiwed, while 50 professional people of the youths have graduated from the Institute of Applied Arts and Walid Ezzat Art Center are added to the number. The Institute of Applied Arts was established in 1987, where ten students graduate annually. Director of the Institute, Tareq Sawah, said that the subjects taught in the Institute are Pottery Formation, Pottery Manufacturing, Pottery Broil and Chemistry. "A student could learn manufacturing pottery in of all its stages," Sawah pointed out, adding that all raw materials are provided to students by the Institute for free. Potter Rifat al-Sa'ati, born in 1940, said that he specialized in pottery from Germany following the wheel way, which is a method taught to students.