Rachel and Eric on tue 23 sep 97
Now here this, the Oaxacan Pottery Workshop is officially announced. Please
read on for details.
I)THE POTTERY OF OAXACA
II)OAXACAN POTTERY WORKSHOP
I)THE POTTERY OF OAXACA
The workshop will take place in Oaxaca state in southern Mexico. There
are more than a dozen ancient pottery villages spread throughout the
mountains and valleys of Oaxaca. The work of each village is distinct in
building technique, color, form and texture. (pots are variably burnished,
slipped, stained with oak bark dye, jet black from smoking in sunken kilns,
wildly colored by the play of fire on clay, etc.) These distinctions result
from variations in local clays, regional adaptations and idiosyncracies
developed through the millennium.
All the pottery is low fire and hand built using construction
methods based on minimal mechanical assistance. Common tools are gourd
pieces, corn cobs and smooth stones. It is a very high degree of skill and
centuries of accumulated knowledge that lets the potters create these
amazing pots.
The pottery of Oaxaca is working, indigenous pottery, the work of
the Zapotec, Mixtec, Trigue, Ayuuk, Amuzgo, and Nahuatl peoples who quietly
carry on this humble and very ancient trade. This pottery traces it's roots
directly back to the rise of the first agrarian communities in Oaxaca some
4,000 years ago, surviving the rise and fall of ancient empires, conquest
and revolution and flickering on into the 21st century.
The motivation in creating this workshop is to share the world of
the Oaxacan potter and her incredible wealth of knowledge with avid students
of pottery. I believe there is much a modern potter can learn from the
artisans of this ancient trade. The potters who will be teaching this
workshop are, in essence, the original potters: the makers of absolute
utilitarian pottery within a tradition unbroken since the first combining of
clay, water and fire. Experiencing the roots of pottery offers a better
understanding of our own process and place as a potter, as well as a deeper
appreciation for humble clay. I also know that the potential intensity of
this experience can significantly influence the course of potter's study and
work.
In addition, it is my profound hope that through exposing this
almost unknown tradition to the eyes and minds of many, the Oaxacan potters
will begin to be recognized for their skills and wonderful work, and as
such, among themselves begin to understand and appreciate the value of their
own work. This recognition and pride should help to encourage the youngsters
of Oaxaca to pick up the clay and carry the torch.
II) OAXACAN POTTERY WORKSHOP.
6 DAYS TOTAL. SIZE LIMIT 7. DECEMBER 29TH,1997-JANUARY 3RD, 1998
Workshop cost is $440. This includes workshop fee, all materials,
hotel for seven nights (single occupany except, in the village) and most
meals.
Four days of the workshop will be spent in the old Zapotec potting
village of San Marcos Tlapazola in the central valley of Oaxaca. This is a
village of potters who's techniques are pre-Colombian, uninfluenced by the
conquest of the Spanish in the 16th century or by the strong tide of the
industrial world.
For these fpur days we will be staying in the village.We will spend
the majority of our time with one family, experiencing the rhythm of a
potters life and learning some of her ancient methods. We will begin by
gathering and preparing our clay. Then we will do our best to learn the San
Marcos hand building technique.
These pots are quickly hand built from a solid cone of clay, using a
corn cob as a sort of rolling pin and a piece of gourd for shaping out the
pot. No form of wheel or lazy susan is used, rather, the point of the cone
rotates as the potter works, in a shallow divot in the floor. We will do our
best to learn this fascinating technique, forming, scraping, slipping and
burnishing our pots. Our visit to San Marcos will close with a traditional
bon firing of the pots.
Our teachers in San Marcos will be Alberta and Dorotea Sanchez, and
Macrina Mateo. These three Zapotec potters are from families that have been
potting for centuries and are highly skilled. They have been recognized
statewide and nationally for their work and have been instrumental in
bringing San Marcos pottery to a wider audience. In a village of skilled
potters their work stands out for its beauty and quality.
The additional two days will be spent visiting two other valley
pottery villages, San Bartolo Coyotepec, and Santa Maria Atzompa where we
will see two very different styles of pottery being produced. In both of
these villages we will see pottery rooted in, but departing from, the
traditional/functional and becoming anything from gaudy to absolutely
spectacular.
In San Bartolo Coyotepec the potters create highly burnished, jet
black pots. These pots are fired in sunken kilns and blackened in a
reduction firing. Here we will visit Leopoldo Barranco, the last traditional
potter in Coyotepec. We will also visit Rosario Diaz, a potter doing the
slicker, decorational pottery that has become standard here in the last 40
years.
In Santa Maria Atzompa we will visit the Doloras Porras family and
see their glazeware, both functional and wildly decorational. This family
has had a huge impact on Atzompa pottery through their design and glaze
work. We will also visit Angelica Vasquez, a sculptural artist, who is
arguably one of the most inspired artists in Mexico today.
I run an organization called Manos de Oaxaca, dedicated to helping
in the survival of indigenous Mexican pottery. I have worked in southern
Mexico with potters in over a dozen villages for the last seven years.
Before that I studied ceramics at Humboldt State University where I received
my B.A. in Fine Arts. I also enjoyed the opportunity of working a semester
with the skilled Pueblo traditionalist potter , Mary Lewis, in Acoma Pueblo,
New Mexico. I will be organizing, coordinating and translating for the
group(for your sake, hopefully not cooking).
PLEASE E-MAIL ME FOR ALL THE DETAILS.
Sincerily y attentamente,
Eric Mindling
Eric Mindling & Rachel Werling
Manos de Oaxaca
AP 1452
Oaxaca, Oax.
CP 68000
M E X I C O
http://www.foothill.net/~mindling/
telefax (951) 3-6776
email: rayeric@antequera.com
Rachel and Eric on sat 25 oct 97
The Hurricane didn't get the potters. There is still space available in the
Oaxacan Pottery Workshop for the trip of a lifetime. Read on for details
I)THE POTTERY OF OAXACA
II)OAXACAN POTTERY WORKSHOP
I)THE POTTERY OF OAXACA
The workshop will take place in Oaxaca state in southern Mexico. There
are more than a dozen ancient pottery villages spread throughout the
mountains and valleys of Oaxaca. The work of each village is distinct in
building technique, color, form and texture. (pots are variably burnished,
slipped, stained with oak bark dye, jet black from smoking in sunken kilns,
wildly colored by the play of fire on clay, etc.) These distinctions result
from variations in local clays, regional adaptations and idiosyncracies
developed through the millennium.
All the pottery is low fire and hand built using construction
methods based on minimal mechanical assistance. Common tools are gourd
pieces, corn cobs and smooth stones. It is a very high degree of skill and
centuries of accumulated knowledge that lets the potters create these
amazing pots.
The pottery of Oaxaca is working, indigenous pottery, the work of
the Zapotec, Mixtec, Trigue, Ayuuk, Amuzgo, and Nahuatl peoples who quietly
carry on this humble and very ancient trade. This pottery traces it's roots
directly back to the rise of the first agrarian communities in Oaxaca some
4,000 years ago, surviving the rise and fall of ancient empires, conquest
and revolution and flickering on into the 21st century.
The motivation in creating this workshop is to share the world of
the Oaxacan potter and her incredible wealth of knowledge with avid students
of pottery. I believe there is much a modern potter can learn from the
artisans of this ancient trade. The potters who will be teaching this
workshop are, in essence, the original potters: the makers of absolute
utilitarian pottery within a tradition unbroken since the first combining of
clay, water and fire. Experiencing the roots of pottery offers a better
understanding of our own process and place as a potter, as well as a deeper
appreciation for humble clay. I also know that the potential intensity of
this experience can significantly influence the course of potter's study and
work.
In addition, it is my profound hope that through exposing this
almost unknown tradition to the eyes and minds of many, the Oaxacan potters
will begin to be recognized for their skills and wonderful work, and as
such, among themselves begin to understand and appreciate the value of their
own work. This recognition and pride should help to encourage the youngsters
of Oaxaca to pick up the clay and carry the torch.
II) OAXACAN POTTERY WORKSHOP.
6 DAYS TOTAL. SIZE LIMIT 7.
1st session DECEMBER 29TH,1997-JANUARY 3RD, 1998
2nd session JANUARY 12TH-JANUARY 17TH, 1998
Workshop cost is $420. This includes workshop fee, all materials,
hotel for seven nights double occupany except, in the village) and most
meals.
Four days of the workshop will be spent in the old Zapotec potting
village of San Marcos Tlapazola in the central valley of Oaxaca. This is a
village of potters who's techniques are pre-Colombian, uninfluenced by the
conquest of the Spanish in the 16th century or by the strong tide of the
industrial world.
For these four days we will be staying in the village. We will spend
the majority of our time with one family, experiencing the rhythm of a
potters life and learning some of her ancient methods. We will begin by
gathering and preparing our clay. Then we will do our best to learn the San
Marcos hand building technique.
These pots are quickly hand built from a solid cone of clay, using a
corn cob as a sort of rolling pin and a piece of gourd for shaping out the
pot. No form of wheel or lazy susan is used, rather, the point of the cone
rotates as the potter works, in a shallow divot in the floor. We will do our
best to learn this fascinating technique, forming, scraping, slipping and
burnishing our pots. Our visit to San Marcos will close with a traditional
bon firing of the pots.
Our teachers in San Marcos will be Alberta and Dorotea Sanchez, and
Macrina Mateo. These three Zapotec potters are from families that have been
potting for centuries and are highly skilled. They have been recognized
statewide and nationally for their work and have been instrumental in
bringing San Marcos pottery to a wider audience. In a village of skilled
potters their work stands out for its beauty and quality.
The additional two days will be spent visiting two other valley
pottery villages, San Bartolo Coyotepec, and Santa Maria Atzompa where we
will see two very different styles of pottery being produced. In both of
these villages we will see pottery rooted in, but departing from, the
traditional/functional and becoming anything from gaudy to absolutely
spectacular.
In San Bartolo Coyotepec the potters create highly burnished, jet
black pots. These pots are fired in sunken kilns and blackened in a
reduction firing. Here we will visit Leopoldo Barranco, the last traditional
potter in Coyotepec. We will also visit Rosario Diaz, a potter doing the
slicker, decorational pottery that has become standard here in the last 40
years.
In Santa Maria Atzompa we will visit the Doloras Porras family and
see their glazeware, both functional and wildly decorational. This family
has had a huge impact on Atzompa pottery through their design and glaze
work. We will also visit Angelica Vasquez, a sculptural artist, who is
arguably one of the most inspired artists in Mexico today.
I run an organization called Manos de Oaxaca, dedicated to helping
in the survival of indigenous Mexican pottery. I have worked in southern
Mexico with potters in over a dozen villages for the last seven years.
Before that I studied ceramics at Humboldt State University where I received
my B.A. in Fine Arts. I also enjoyed the opportunity of working a semester
with the skilled Pueblo traditionalist potter , Mary Lewis, in Acoma Pueblo,
New Mexico. I will be organizing, coordinating and translating for the
group(for your sake, hopefully not cooking).
PLEASE E-MAIL ME FOR ALL THE DETAILS.
Sincerily y attentamente,
Eric Mindling
Eric Mindling & Rachel Werling
Manos de Oaxaca
AP 1452
Oaxaca, Oax.
CP 68000
M E X I C O
http://www.foothill.net/~mindling/
telefax (951) 3-6776
email: rayeric@antequera.com
Eric Mindling on wed 22 aug 01
SAN MARCOS WORKSHOP. Oaxaca, Mexico. Indigenous pottery from the hands of
masters.
This is an intensive, hands in the clay workshop that gives us the
very rare opportunity of being immerse us into the pottery making and life
of a small Zapotec village called San Marcos Tlapazola (see Ceramics
Monthly, Feb 2000). San Marcos is located in the high, central valley of
Oaxaca, Mexico. This valley was and is the cradle of Zapotec civilization.
We will be staying in this town for four and a half days following our
teachers through the process of creating a pot. Beginning by gathering and
preparing clay, then working our way through the unusual steps of this
wheelless, ancient, hand building technique. On our last day we will fire
our pots in the quick, surface bonfire used in this village. With a little
luck when the coals burn down we will have well formed, red slipped and
burnished pots with wonderful burnmarks.
As we are learning our way through the hand building methods of our
teachers, we will also ease into the rhythm and peaceful pace of this
traditional, pre-industrial village. In our time in San Marcos will become
familiar and comfortable with our hosts, working side by side with them,
sharing meals and stories.
The additional days will be spent visiting two other valley
pottery villages, San Bartolo Coyotepec, and Santa Maria Atzompa where we
will see two very different styles of pottery being produced. In Atzompa we
will visit with Dolores Porras who began the multi-colored glaze tradition
in this village in the 1980's. We will also visit with Angelica Vasquez,
one of Mexico's most talented and inspired potters. Much of her work is
centered around depicting in clay the old Oaxacan myths and legends told to
her by her grandmother. (Both of these women are featured in the Chronicle
Press book "Oaxacan Ceramics" In Coyotepec we will visit with Leopoldo
Barranco, the last seriously traditional potter in a village that has
adapted well to the 21st century marketplace.
Session 1- Dec 10-15, 2001
Session 2-March 18-23, 2002
Workshop cost is $595. This includes workshop fee, museum entrance, all
materials, hotel Sun.-Sat night and most meals. Max group size: eight
participants/two guides
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Rachel Werling, botanist
and/or
Eric Mindling, potterologist
www.manos-de-oaxaca.com
email: rayeric@rnet.com.mx
Apto Postal 1452
Oaxaca, Oax.
cp 68000
Mexico
phone 011 52 (954) 7-4534
fax 011 52 (952) 1-4186
Eric and Rachel on tue 7 oct 03
Dear potters,
Each year I offer just a few unique, focused journeys to the hidden lands
of indigenous pottery in Mexico. These trips are put together through years
of research and exploration and are unequaled anywhere in Mexico. Through
these meticulously planned journeys the stunning world of traditional
pottery, rural culture and hard to reach corners of Southern Mexico are
made accessible to the inquisitive traveler.
If you would like more information visit www.manos-de-oaxaca.com
or contact Eric Mindling at rayeric@RNET.com.mx.
A POTTER'S JOURNEY: Ancient Oaxaca
December 14-21, 2003
Cost: $1,350 with 5-6 participants, $1,075 with 7-10 participants.:
A journey designed for potters through Oaxaca, Mexico; a
wonderland of ancient pottery ways. From the Oaxacan valley to the Mixtec
highlands we visit with potters who have 200 generations of tradition
behind them, see wood firings, pot forming with corn cob rolling pins,
exquisite sculptural work, tannin staining, and much more in the ways of
clay. Plus plenty of Oaxaca's renown cuisine, markets, pre Colombian ruins
and beautiful scenery
OAXACAN CLAY WORKSHOP. Indigenous pottery from the hands of Mexican masters.
February 22-29, 2004
Cost: $1,300 with 5-6 participants, $1,050 with 7-8 participants.:
This is an intensive, hands in the clay workshop that gives
participants the very rare opportunity of being immersed into the pottery
making and life of a small Zapotec village. This is combined with travel to
different indigenous pottery producing centers, markets and pre Colombian
ruins in the mountainous state of Oaxaca, Mexico.
ALL TRIP PRICES INCLUDE all hotels, most meals, all Oaxaca transport
(except airport transfers) by private van, demonstrations, materials, entry
fees and small group/low impact travel.
| |
|
