Sculptural vessels: recreating the language of ancient South American cultures.
I attended a two week intensive workshop at Escuela Nacional de Cerámica in Tapalpa, México with Argentine potter and professor Victoria Morando.
Her work is informed by pre-Columbian indigenous pottery traditions from Argentina, inspired by their creative styles, forms, ancient ways of preparing wild clays, handbuilding, burnishing and firing techniques.
I was drawn to this workshop to experience how one could complete an entire production cycle with minimal use of commercial products or electricity, a foray into something more aligned with the original ways of making pottery than many of us are accustomed to. I also looked forward to the opportunity to connect with fellow potters as we all connected with the works and processes of ancient potters.
In this workshop we gathered to watch slide shows illustrating pre-Columbian ceramic pieces, discussing the symbolic meanings of design elements as well as how or why these vessels were made. We prepared wild clay, adding wool and grog to the clay body. Figurative pots that combined our personal styles with the design elements that resonated with us most were created from pinch pots or slabs. We burnished for hours (and hours) and hours to achieve incredibly glossy surfaces. Victoria encouraged us to try a more embodied way of handling our pieces while working on them: supporting them with our feet or hips, beyond using just our hands.
We built a wood kiln and used it to fire our work, finishing the firing with a brief immersion in a reduction environment (a firing atmosphere where oxygen is intentionally limited) to create a beautiful, almost glaze-like finish.
Several people have asked how this workshop might inform my work moving forward, but I never actually know in what ways new skills or experiences will be integrated. In many ways, what I learned is quite a departure from my work.
I tend not to work with low fire materials or use a wood kiln, my work is not figurative or burnished, I have not drawn direct design inspiration from ancient pottery traditions for use in my work.
In some ways, what I learned aligns perfectly with the direction I find myself heading. I am compelled to understand my local geology so that I can responsibly incorporate regional ceramic materials into my work, reducing my dependence on commercially mined and processed ingredients that need to be packaged and shipped. A friend and I have plans to eventually build a small, low fire wood kiln inspired by the one built in Tapalpa. I have dabbled in using low fire local clays and this may encourage more testing.
I was impressed by the surfaces of the pots we fired as part of the workshop and would love to further explore burnishing and using partial reduction firing. I enjoyed expressing myself through sculpting human characters. I may need to make more of them!
My favorite part of this workshop was the invitation for intentionality during each step of the creative process. Working with earth, fire, water, air, organic materials, along with the skills and guidance from Victoria to manifest a finished ceramic piece that embodied an intention or idea felt empowering. I aim to integrate suggestions to slow down, to bring more of my inner world into my work, and to follow natural rhythms and cycles when working with natural elements.