Gzhel Porcelain Factory Tour

Joey was very hesitant to send me on a trip to a blue porcelain factory...

I guess I really can't blame him.

At the same time I never dreamed I would enjoy it as much as I did.

So much beautiful blue porcelain in one place! Wow.

And the factory tour was very interesting and

brought us all to a better appreciation for what it takes to actually

get to the end product. The process is long and tedious. But in the end beautiful!

Gzhel is a very small town on the outskirts of Moscow. We drove a long way to get there!

The Russian lady above, I snapped from inside the bus window on our way.

Stacy, myself and Geri... the three amigos enjoyed a shopping trip

after the Museum and Factory tour!

Below are the ovens the porcelain is "fired in", there are several firings in the process...

and you can see some molds stacked on carts to the side.

Once they are poured and fired they have to be cleaned, all the edges sanded off

Here they are still "green".

They get this pink coat of "paint" that disappears when fired.

Except where there are cracks it stays showing them where the cracks are.

Then the real painting begins... very talented artists. We spent some time in the museum part of the factory where we saw pictures of some of the early artist

and heard the history of the porcelain itself.

a stamp of authenticity

The last coat (clear coat) covers all the blue paint but

then all the blue comes out beautifully with the last firing.

and now for the beautiful porcelain!