By IASP.
For the last several days I have been staring a this piece of pottery that I brought from Pomaire, Chile. Clay is part of our handmade crafting traditions, but I never valued the worth of almost 200 hundred years of history. These are some of my thoughts after vising this crafting community.
Pomaire is unique. A small town located next to the capital from Chile. How could you defeat the faith of becoming nada, obliterated, or forgotten? One word: clay. Surprise, surprise. Not two but three words. Handmade clay pottery. Pomaire's identity gravitates toward such a fantastic community of artists and pottery makers. Generation after generation. Pomaire has been mastering the art of clay pottery. In fact, this inter-generational dialogue starts back in the 1850s when the first caravans full of clay wares would regularly travel all the way to from Pomaire to Valparaiso to be sold in the main market.
Pots, pans, bowls, plates, and anything you could really imagine. Clay is as unique as Pomaire. To force yourself to one specific material brings a universe of possibilities. It raises a dialogue between the artist and the clay, a relationship in which the artists borrows the essence of it to create something new and unique. Next to me, I have this clay hen pot and a cup of hierva matte. All is "pomaireware" that I brought from my last travel.
I'm delighted.
The material is full of textures that you cannot find anywhere, specially ceramics. I'm triggered, wondering if by looking close enough I can see the fingerprints of the pottery maker, like the strokes of a painter. The hen pot is heavy and each angle offers something unique. The dark color is uncovered by unnecessary ornaments. It's handmade clay. Traditionally made with techniques that passed from generation to generation brought from a small town in Chile to Minneapolis, Minnesota. A journey, in other words, a tale of two hemispheres.
To properly use the pomaireware, you need to make some preliminary steps. Almost like a ceremony in which you also become part of this inter-generational dialogue with the clay, the earth. You cannot just fill you hen pot with tea and place it right on the stove. It will explode like a grenade! -I'm exaggerating. It will just crack.
First, the clay tastes like earth. No worries. This is not a scam of making you drink mud for the probiotics. The pomaireware requires a preparation because the clay also absorbs tastes very easily. For example, my hen pot needs to be filled in with cinnamon (suggested, you can make changes) and water for a complete day before being used the first time (and every once in a while).
Then, when the times comes to make tea. It has to be prefilled with bowling water, so the clay can also expand. It doesn't need a long wash, just enough to avoid crackings. In theory, you could only preheat the water with an electric heater and prepare the tea in the hen pot. That's fair play.
Finally, and only after this preliminary steps, you can place the pomaireware on the stove. This, my friends, is the authentic Chilean tea ceremony. Mandated by the clay itself. Perhaps there is some wisdom behind that we still need to process and learn, becoming part of this conversation between the material, the artist, and buyer.
Don't betray the clay. I beg you. May the pot explode like a grenade. I hope.
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