“After our morning of classes, our group met up this afternoon with a ceramics artist, Gerardo, for the first of four workshops. He and his wife graciously welcomed us into their home and into Gerardo’s studio. There, he expertly retold the history of pottery from around the world, as well as demonstrated how to make 3 different ceramics. He made it look so easy! However, upon actually trying to create a simple bowl on the ceramics wheel, we discovered that it is not at all as easy as we thought. He sent us to work on a project that combined two bowls into one piece. Through his diligence and his caring help, we learned many new things, such as how a ceramic elephant is good luck, if the trunk points toward the sky. And, if there’s a ceramic bird on it, it is even better luck. Gerardo believes that every piece of ceramic has a piece of the maker’s heart and soul in it. We finished off our day with homemade “empanaditas” and “zumo de sandia” (watermelon juice) with Gerardo’s family. “
By: Julia P.