Namjooning at the Ayala Museum

I was in Makati for a follow up checkup yesterday and there was a window of opportunity to swing by the Ayala Museum for a few hours of #Namjooning. I got a 50% discount using my faculty ID so, I took my time enjoying the Ceramic exhibit.

As a hobbyist potter, I swelled with pride to find myself engaged in a centuries old tradition and way of life. Modern pottery has changed tremendously nonetheless, I see some aspects of the technology being practiced to this day. Moving on to the weaving and indigenous textile exhibit, spurned my growing interest in local and indigenous clothing.

The real reason I willed myself to go to The Ayala Museum was the Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan exhibit. It is a yearly event that INKies stage and execute during National Children's Book season. Amazing! It is still up until July 28, 2024 so, head on to the museum. This is free so, have a look at the current crop of artists designing and illustrating books for children.

The guards and invigilators are so friendly, they are willing to take your photos. I had my photo taken beside Onyok, Ang Mahiyaing Manok and the Ang INK Exhibit banner. This one is for you, Totet!

Happy National Children’s Book Day!

ARMY Glow-Up Goal Work in Progress: Handbuilt Pottery

Dear Jin,

You said in Awake: I can't touch the sky / Still, I want to stretch my hand out / I want to run, just a bit more. There are things I can no longer do at my age, but your song, Awake and the lyrics you sing about motivated me to pursue a recreational activity that is therapeutic. Also, it bolsters creativity. You see, I went back to pottery in September 2023 inspired by the ARMY Glow Up campaign of Titas of BTS and ARMY Connect PH. Here I am now, proud to share with you my journey which include the blocks and bumps I encountered along the way.

1.     My ARMY Glow-UP Goal Pillar: ARMY Glow-Up Recreation

2.       My AGU_Recreation Goal: My goal is to relearn the basics of handbuilding in making pots, mugs and trinket dishes from earthenware and stoneware clay into useful pots and ceramics. In pottery and clay art, I find the space and time to calm down and decompress. Handbuilding and pottery sessions with a small group of friends and peers is a bonding session where we share the joy of creative play and companionship.

3.       Steps and strategies I have taken: I went back to my notes and art journals/blog entries on clay and pottery. I got in touch with friends from the pottery community and asked for the rates and costs of glazing and firing services. Because our school community opened an alternative class day and health and wellness programs, I signed up and became the proponent for pottery. I cleaned up my old pottery kit and bought new ones. I have a dedicated schedule for handbuilding and when the opportunity presents itself, I gather friends to “clay together”.

 As ARMY, my inspo for the designs, form and structure of hanbuilt pots and mugs are BTS songs, music and content. The ARMY Glow Up Campaign of TOB and ACPH became an avenue to share this experience with friends in TOB, old and new.

   4.      How do I know I am making progress: I have a rubric for pinch pots and basic handbuilding techniques. I follow the criteria and success indicators when I practice and do the actual shaping, sculpting and design of the products.

5.       Facing the blocks and bumps in the journey: Clay and the tools for handbuilding are fairly inexpensive. It is the glazing and firing processes that cost a lot. Since the benefits of clay and pottery outweigh the cost (at least for me), I have learned to schedule, plan and program my pottery sessions individually or with ARMY friends. There are days when I feel so anxious I need to sculpt and shape clay. I give in and just be. Now I have a box of pots, mugs and plates kept in the house. When the funds arrive, I select which of the products are for glazing and firing. I send them to my potter friends who collab with me on the color, the glazes and enhancement of the designs. Some products I generously give as gifts to friends and family. Most of them I sell for fund raising and for my AGU goal and recreational therapy to continue.

6.       Where am I now: Pottery is art. Art takes time. Handbuilding is an imperfectly beautiful technique to master but principles in design, symmetry and balance apply. As much as it is art, it is also discipline. In clay and pottery, I realized that the process is a continuum of the life-death-life cycle. I am learning to be patient. I am able to look at endings and beginnings of life journeys.

 As for skills in pottery, I am confident at making a plate or dish from slabbing techniques. I have yet to develop competence in creating an even mug with engravings and surface decorations. I am now capable of painting on my products using under glazes. I take pleasure and honor in sharing all the things I learned so far with friends, ARMY or non-ARMY.

7.       Where will I go from here: I will continue developing handbuilding techniques such as coiling and pinching. I need to study design and structural principles of sculpting clay. To learn wheel throwing and setting up my own pottery studio is a long-term plan; a dream I hope to actualize before retirement. ARMY daughter encourages me to sell in bazaars and art fairs. I am putting that in the short-term goal or a plan to be realized in three months’ time or less.

So, this is my work in progress, Jin. I am stretching my hands and running. Just a little bit more.

😊 It’s just me, Tita Zee 😊

ARMY Glow Up Goal Update

Smoother surface, in and out; handle is blended well on both ends; consistent thickness in circumference. #progress #handbuiltpottery

@titazeeh7 Smoother surface, in and out; handle is blended well on both ends; consistent thickness in circumference. #progress #handbuiltpottery ♬ = (Equal Sign) - j-hope

Pandemic Poetry: Clay

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When Art is Transformative: Clay and Pottery

 

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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 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.