European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 7, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Finished pieces of pottery sit curing in the Sun outside the factory located near a cemetery and an ancient burial Mound. Potter s Art time has t changed an old tradition a Potter sits at a wheel crimping the rim of a vase. The music of the Potter s wheel a thump Hiss thump Hiss a echoes through Damp rooms of Bahrain s oldest Active pottery factory just As it did a thousand years ago. Nestled among the burial Mounds of the Island state s Northern tip the factory that the proprietor claims once catered to the Ceramic desires of the ruling class refuses to succumb to the Progress engulfing the rest of the nation. Potters still work their Clay on a wheel powered by the constant backward Forward motion of a human leg. Their wares Are still baked in outdoor Coal burning ovens. More Akin to a series of shops than a factory the rooms Are Damp and usually Cool thanks to Large troughs of wet Clay. Potters sit silently at their tables molding the mixture of Earth and water into a multitude of objects some practical others not. With a thumb and a couple of fingers a craftsman can turn a Lump of Clay into a vase or drinking Pitcher in a matter of minutes. His hands Fly about the Clay like Moths near a Light and slowly a shape will appear. The secret of this feat of manual dexterity is the Potter s own. Only he knows what he wants when the wheel begins to spin. Only he knows How to make it appear from the Gray slime. The factory is operated by the state More As a part of Bahrain s National heritage than As a moneymaking business. The potters work mainly out of a sense of duty other than the tour groups that wander through a few times a week there Are few customers. Most of the pottery eventually finds its Way to a Mountain of shattered earthen jars bowls and cups behind the building. Only those items needed to keep the shelves full for the tourists Are Ever finished. Unused unpainted and seemingly unwanted vases and pots Are stacked and strewn everywhere waiting for a place on a shelf a or to be smashed on the Clay Mountain outside. A Luke Brit 12 stripes Magazine november 7, 799/ americans on a tour of the factory try to bargain for completed pieces. Pottery As Art finished pieces a nearly identical a dry in the Sun. A amps photos by Ken George tourists wander among unfinished pottery on the grounds of the fat Lory. November 7, i i stripes Magazine 13