Sixty-year-old Stephen Dewornu, a potter and ceramist, is a Ghanaian making significant strides beyond the borders of Ghana.

Stephen Dewornu, a native of Vume in the Volta Region, has been in the pottery business for 38 years.

Making a living from pottery, Stephen Dewornu’s work has earned him recognition in other African Countries.

He constructs his kilns for the baking of the pots and also travels to places like Togo and Nigeria to build kilns for clients who request his services using clay bricks as his main building material.

“I’m not a potter alone, I’m a ceramist. When I’m going to someplace, I won’t carry my potter’s wheel, I won’t take anything. When I reach there, I can manufacture the potter’s wheel, build the kiln and then do my work. I build the kiln myself, everything I do it myself so I’m taking it as a business. I’ve been building in Togo, Nigeria,” he stated.

He educated Etsey Atisu on the various components of the kiln.

“We can separate the kiln into about 4 or 5 parts. We have the kiln itself, the kiln chamber, the firebox and the chimney. The Kiln chamber is where the pots are packed and the firebox is where the fire is set. The smoke ventilation goes to the chimney,” he disclosed.

Explaining the processes involved in pottery making, he stated that the fire required to bake the moulded pots must be set to a temperature of 400 degrees to avoid cracks.

“Once the moulded pots are dry, there’s still water in it. That water is called chemical combined water so when we pack them in the kiln, you have to preheat it for 400 degrees or fire it gradually to let the water disappear slowly so that it will not cause any cracking. If you speed up the fire it will crack and the term is called dunting,” he explained.

Dewornu, through his skill set, has developed protégés in the business, empowering them with the necessary skills and training.

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MAG/ ADG