A study of production techniques used by traditional Indian potters and their ability to adapt to new materials and produce their ceramics in a new environment is described. The project was undertaken as an adjunct to the Aditi exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution in 1985. Two Indian potters were commissioned to serve as representatives of traditional craftsmen from India at the exhibit. These two potters produced numerous pieces of pottery with clays and other materials, much of which came from the local Washington, D.C. area. The pottery was fired in kilns that they built and operated at the Smithsonian's Museum Support Center in Suitland, Maryland. Equipment was set up in the kilns to monitor changes in temperature and atmosphere during the entire firing and cooling process. Participants in this study were able to observe how the potters maintained the core of their craft while many of the raw materials and firing circumstances had changed. These observations can also help to check inferences about past production processes since the process was actually viewed.