Alternative Class Days: Bending Earth Day 2-3

On day 2 and 3 of Bending Earth, we learned about Philippine Pottery, got our hands on terra cotta and stoneware, sculpted and hand built figures and pots, and realised the difficulty of making an ocarina.

Maui Melencio once again taught us the value of clay and the importance of earth. Coaching students to balance their mixes of water and earth along the way, she encouraged them to be patient and to listen to their clay. During the painting session of the pots and sculptures, she explained the delicate process of glazing and firing, emphasising what EJ Espiritu told us in Day 1. 

In the two day hands on workshop, students were asked to research on Philippine Pottery. They found out the meaning and purpose of clay and the different pots pre-Colonial Filipinos used. I found out that in Iguig, Cagayan there is a town whose industry is chiefly clay and pottery. When I told Maui about this, she affirmed the richness in natural resources of our country. Terra cotta is abundant in the islands. Pottery is a common industry in the Philippines from Luzon, Visayas to Mindanao but there is a need to support local potters to innovate and bring back their cultural identity into pottery and ceramics. This gives me another good reason to visit my father’s hometown. 

On a personal level, I learned something new from Maui Melencio last week. How clay remembers the touch of the potter’s hand. When the pot or the sculpture is fired in the kiln, it leans or curves one way or the other. How connected we are to the elements! Indeed, we are spiritual beings and yet, we surround ourselves with synthetic things. I heed the call of the elements.

Earth. Water. Air. Fire.  Uncle Iroh lives!