Pandemic Poetry: Clay

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When Art is Transformative: Clay and Pottery

 

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A post shared by Zarah Gagatiga (@teetahzee)

Pilgrim's Pitstop: Into the Potter's House

 

I attended the first online Annual Ignatian Retreat (AIR) with Fr. James Gascon SJ last September 4-7, 2020. Although I am used to attending online retreats and subscribing to prayer apps, this AIR delivered through Zoom was a life affirming experience. The AIR which Fr. James designed and conducted was well paced and responsive to the call of the times. When loss is all around and unspeakable grief hovers like a Dementor, breaking bread online with members of the Magis Deo community is God’s given grace.

Of the many prayer sessions and reflection points in the AIR, three of them made an impact namely, the five senses and hand activity, the Parable of the Potter’s House and the session on sin and forgiveness. Let me share on these three things some more.

I find the five senses and hand activity as the most helpful form of stress, anxiety and anger management technique during these trying times. I go back to the drawing of my hand and the valuables I enumerated there to draw comfort and consolation during days of doubt and discontent. My, oh my… I know I am still the same person with flaws and imperfections but what I cherish these days are very much different from when Domeng and I were just starting out on our journey in Magis Deo. What came to light after doing this activity is the recognition of how God has moved into and out of my life. The days that followed were visitations to roads and paths taken through the years and this process of prayer amplified God’s enduring love.

The second prayer and reflection point that moved me was Jeremiah 18:4, ‘whenever the object of clay which he was making turned out badly in his hand, he tried again, making of the clay another object of whatever sort he pleased.’  I have read and encountered this verse many times in the past. Since I learned hand-built pottery from a professional potter and clay artist, the Bible verse presents a new meaning to my continuing journey and relationship with God.

You see, potters are patient people. They know that clay, earth as a natural element for this matter, has a life of its own. Water is essential to the potter as it helps in setting the consistency and plasticity of the clay being formed. Fire in the kiln strengthens the object’s form, structure and make up. Experienced potters know the science and the chemistry behind this. But they are always open to what will come out of the kiln. Most of the time, hand-built pots and ceramics are imperfectly created despite the process of shaping on the wheel. For some mysterious reason, the shape, form and markings of hand-built pots and ceramics show the hands of the potter. My pottery teacher once told me, “Ms. Zarah, kahit anong paghuhulma at  pagkikinis ang gagawin mo sa bowl na iyan, pwede yan mag-iba ng hugis sa firing process.” When the formed clay meets the heat in the kiln, it will move and bend to the touch of the potter’s hand. The clay has a memory of the potter who created it. This experience gave me a new insight to the parable. God is my creator. I will always remember His touch.

As for the last reflection on sin and forgiveness, I admit that it is the session I struggled with the most. I have questions on mercy and justice. For one, I constantly ask, how does it factor in the process of forgiving?

I have been patiently praying for this since then.

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! 

Alternative Class Days 2019: Bending Earth

From March 20, 21 and 22, 2019, the Academy is up and about for Alternative Class Days (ACD). This has been around as far back as I can remember. We are having nine ACD Classes or Sessions and one of them is Pottery. It is the same ACD Class I championed last year. Following the same format, what changed this year is a visit to the Cornerstone Pottery Farm in Silang, Cavite. There we met EJ Espiritu, potter and owner of Cornerstone Pottery Farm. Coming from a manufacturing and production background, his orientation and tour revolved on the process, the business and the chemistry behind pottery and ceramic art. 

The entire process still blows me away. From mixing clay to forming it, air drying to glazing, firing for 10 to 12 hours long only to discover the many mistakes and rejected pots and ceramics at the end of it all. Patience and perseverance are two qualities a potter must possess, apart from discipline and a sense of order. The highlight of the tour was EJ Espiritu’s demonstration at the electric wheel. Placing a mound of clay, he emphasised the importance of balance and centering. I felt a tug at my heart strings. It has been three months since I last held clay. 

Our students were impressed at his use of the wheel. He was steady, firm but gentle. He said it took him a while to learn how to effectively use it. Finding a sense of peace within made the process of using a wheel a bit easier to handle and to manipulate a material such as clay. We ended the visit by buying ceramic and pots from his shop. As a souvenir, I bought a simple bird chime. I love it!

On day 2 and 3, we will meet Maui Melencio for the hand building and sculpting workshop on campus.

Meeting Real Life Earth Benders

It was Alternative Class Days (ACD) in school last week and I was the teacher proponent of two workshops: Paper Engineering and Clay/Pottery Workshop. With co-teachers helping conduct and supervise the former, I and two colleagues worked together to facilitate the later. 

Our plan was to visit the Pottery studio of Tessy and Jon Pettyjohn in Calamba, Laguna and assist potter and ceramic artist, Maui Melencio in conducting the workshop back in the Academy. It was an ACD that had all the elements working together: earth, water, air and fire. It was an Avatar moment and we became earth benders! 

Day 1 - Master Earth Benders

Tessy and Jon Pettyjohn have been bending earth for more than four decades. Their works have been displayed and exhibited in different parts of the country and the world. Tessy’s works are practical, showing symmetry and reason. Jon’s pottery go beyond functionality and utilitarianism. His works are fun to look at, suggestive of play and wonder with deviations from the expected norm. In their store, I saw a balck tea cup with a dent near the base. How beautifully made! Indeed, one’s impetfection can be a blessing to others!

Considered as the parents of Philippine Contemporary Ceramic Art, Tessy and Jon welcome visitors, especially those eager to learn about their art and their trade, to their home studio and workshop. Advance booking is needed so they schedule the visit in their calendar.

They do not disappoint. They are generous and warm, passionate artists who have been blessed by the earth’s bounties. That morning, we held clay in our hands. Cool and pliant. I noticed our students enjoying the feel of mud on their hands! I did too as the clay sticks to my palm like second skin. Yeilding, waiting to be formed. A story that must be to told.

Jon spoke about clay like it was alive. Listen to your clay, he said. Ask what it wants you to do, he added. In five minutes, I had a bowl made of clay.

When the clay is bone dry, it will be glazed and fired twice. The process takes a month so, potters create more in between days.

Day 2-3 - Becoming an Earth Bender

With Maui Melencio, we got to know clay and she brought out our inner earth bender hiding within. How it comes out naturally! How unique each earth bender is! No two artist are alike and this is seen in the pots and clay art we made. 

As the workshop was hands on, Maui worked closely with each of us. I was the teacher proponent of the workshop but I was learning so much from my students and from the experience as well. I put too much water on my clay. My base can be uneven and weak. I spray too close for my clay’s comfort. I lose patience. I do not talk and listen to my clay.  At some point I find myself feeling more like a fire bender! 

At the end of the workshop, I was able to make seven clay projects. It is the turtle, my kadua, that I love so much. It is a good start as Maui said. But I can still do better.

What’s next?

The clay projects are now bone dry. I will bring them to Maui for glazing and firing which, I hope, we could do with her. Well, except the firing process as it takes tweleve hours to fire them. 

For now, I will bend earth. And make paper art. And sew felt and cross stitch. Do a bit of gardening. Read books. Drink coffee. Look at the sky. Dream. Be good. Be kind. Love!