New Pad

Since early October i have shifted to a new pad. The house is called "El Turros" and functions as a rural B&B. www.elturros.com It is a typical farmhouse that is found extensively in the region of La Garrotxa in Catalunya..NE Spain. It dates back to the 17th century and is set amongst the hills and valleys of the area. Sant Jaume de Llierca is the local village. It's beautiful and I love the peace and tranquility that being in the midst of Nature inspires. I have access to a small ceramics studio which needs alot of work doing to it before I can get potting. I have started doing research into local clays and some do look promising. As part of the bargain I do alot of work around the house....repairing the road which was full of pot holes...great job for a pot ter. Also cutting down trees, weeding..even started a small vegetable patch with celery, artichokes, beans, onions and spinach....let's hope the wild boar leave me something for next year.

Embarrarte 2009 in Ponferrada

"Oriente-Occidente" was the theme of this year's ceramic festival in Ponferrada "Embarrate 2009". The theme was right up my street seeing that I have been living in Japan for the last 18 years and that I am originally from India...and the Spanish only discovered America because they were trying to find a route to India. I was invited in order to do a "Tea Ceremony", demonstrate Japanese Raku-because the Tea Bowl, and its connection to Chojiro and Sen no Rikyu is fundamental to the Tea Ceremony and finally to demonstrate the famous "Le Four Mobile"....it also meant we could wangle stuff out of the sponsoring supermarket chain who supplied us with a shopping cart and hence lay out a spread for the opening! All credit to Gerardo Queipo for putting on a great event despite the problems and the "Embarrarte team". I was lucky to have Ikebana artist from Japan Ruriko Iesaka visit and who very kindly did a shodo demonstration and ikebana. As always "Embarrate" is a focal point for many artists who can count on innumerable things going on and thus making it a special occasion....Films on ceramics, Glass demonstration, and of course the International Ceramics Festival.

Domadores de Fuego

The 2nd edition of "Domadores de Fuego", a ceramics event with fire at its core, was held in Muel (Aragon) Spain, from the 11th-12th July. Around 25 potters and artists displayed various forms of playing with fire which included pitfiring, wood kilns, reduction techniques, raku, open firings and my contribution with Eve Ariza "La Torrre de BLAbel". It was a collaborative effort where "Bindu" met "Bla". "Bindu" in Hindi means dot and is used extensively in the rgions of Gujerat as a metaphor in decoration whilst "Bla" is what happens when people waffle on and on without saying anything. The technical note saw both "bindus" and "blas" placed on kiln shelves and fired in a kiln especially made for the occasion. It formed a type of tower. Colour played an important role as bindus are black whilst blas are pink. They interacted with each other. Eve went one step further and designed special clothing in order to reflect "Bindu meets Bla". The firing ended with a spectacular finale as the kiln was opened once temperature was reached. As the entire structure was glazed the piece formely a composition ended up as one as it all got stuck together making a few punters think it was not meant to be. Special thanks to a Joaquim, Lola, Susana, Javier, Muel Potters Association, the Town Council and especially Eve.

To Live by Mick Parkin

"To Live" is a book by Mich Parkin who formally edited SINEWS the Spanish Information Network newsletter. I first met Mick in the early 80's in Barcelona when he was there to gather information about the CNT and its role not only during the Spanish Civil War, its struggles under the Franco Dictatorship and its emergence in a new democratic Spain. I know I've been here before and I know I've tried to use the fullest understanding possible. It was great to have Mick visit and present his book to the Girona Writers' Group here in Navata. It was a full house as we delved into the circumstances surrounding the characters in the book. Knowing Mick I felt that the real question had taken a back seat-namely the robbery of some tanks-whilst other issues like the theoretical basis of revolution and praxis take on greater meaning within the nuts and bolts of everyday life. Like coffee going up 4pts in price making it impossible for Vicente to have his regular quaff which he feels he so rightly deserves. The writer in the end questions the methods in decision making and that politics is the way of achieving change. Spiritual values are intrduced such as when Ramon says "Any one of us may face death this day, and until that moment no man can know for certain how he will act!"....Complete silence. I do like the book and it is welll worth a read. Copies can be obtained by contacting Mick directly mickmcparkin@aol.com or myself.

Fire Trees in France

The Fire Trees are now on You Tube. Produced by Heloisa Alvim
Here is the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-IewWif968


It's amazing how time flies. Heloisa Alvima is a potter from Brazil who lives in Monferrier, France. I was very happy to be invited to build and fire a set of Fire Trees which would coincide with the festival of San Jean which is also the same day as the Summer Solstice. The setting was the Culture Centre and I was ably assisted by students from the ceramics school, local potters and enthusiasts. We started off with the usual coiling techniques and found the clay as supplied by SolarGil to be good allowing us to dry out the structure quite rapidly without cracking. Those who participated in the project were also invited to create decorations that reflected the local landscape or at least inspiration was from our surroundings. I did so in order to make people more aware of the environment in which we inhabit not only in the physical sense but also in the social context. It is another aspect of the Fire Trees that go beyond technique and process.
It was great to have the support of the Asociation de Clubs de Loisir (Hope that is how it is spelt!), Daniel who is the president, Gerard who put up with me and his wife Jo---many evenings were spent enjoying their hospitality, Loule, Izabu, Tibo, Caren and a host of others. Their help and kindness also the hospitality knew no bounds. If I have forgotton anybody then I allow myself to be shot for such an omission. Unfortunately we discovered that the clay did not quite meet up to the tremendous stresses during the firing and structural damage was quite severe...despite our attempts to repair the damage I am afraid the trees will have to be re-built and fired again. We got to temperature and the clay fired well...in some cases it actually fused. The firing was quite a spectacle. Looking forward to the next firing.

Terra i Foc-El Pinell de Brai

"Terra i Foc" is the name of a festival that was held in "El Pinell de Brai" in the province of Tarragona in June. I was there to get "El Coet" off the ground. A version of "The Flying Kiln". I was quite amazed by the beautiful town perched on a rocky outcrop and even more fascinating was to be given a private tour by local artist Goro of "El Celler Modernista" The people were great and fscinated by the fact that in the heart of "Catalunya Profunda" they could find a person from the sub-continent that spoke Catalan with a Girona accent! There were loads organized....exhibitions, events, demonstrations, music, Almorzars Populars......you name it. Meeting the local potters and getting to know their work was an added pleasure. Thanks has got to be given to the Organizing Committee and to Joan Panisello for images. If around well worth a visit and if not make a detour...You won't be disappointed.

Ceramics in Cyber Space

Ceramics in Cyber Space.
At first glance it may seem either totally ridiculous or an attempt at pulling the wool over one's teapot, maybe even a question of "The Potter's New Clothes" . What are the connections? That we can communicate electronically as we whizz through space?. That we have homepages, BLOGs, internet connections, e-magazines online or that whatever information you need can be found through the net?. Iron Red Glazes...just a moment!!!!! and that micorchips are essentially silica?. None of this really rather that one can pot without having a studio as one flits about from one ceramic event to another and most of one's work is done through sitting in front of a screen in an internet cafe. Lap tops are too heavy to lug around! Many years ago I met a potter who did a roaring trade selling a commercially succesful line of pieces but was looked down upon by the potting fraternity, here in Spain. He said to me "What's the point of knocking out all this stuff and then where do you store it all? I guess he did have a point especially if you happen to live in Yahoo and can cart about everything on a stick. So potting in Cyber Space would be the answer. We've had kilns made from "manga"-Japanese comic books, paper, cars, shopping carts, fridges...I even saw one potter make a kiln with blocks of ice. At Andretta with Mini and Mary Singh some Japanese potters tried doing a traditional firing with "gobbar". It went out of control and so they started throwing water to slow things down. A group of local potters watching the fun and puffing contendedly at their beedies sniggered and said . "यह हमारे जीवन में हम एक पानी फायरिंग देखा है पहली बार है" Pots and non-ceramic pieces have been fired, potters have been fired, for attempting things beyond the narrow confines of what is considered pottery and I guess it is about time we fired a computer....with images of pots on the desktop no doubt. Pots fired in micro-wave ovens in two shakes of a duck's tail or with solar energy......Where will it all end? Would it be Verse 34 of the Naad Bindhu Upanishad? "He will first hear the sound of the ocean waves, Cone 10 and waterfalls.... Or maybe what the Han Dynasty poet Hu had to say."Drinking beer in celamic cup good cheer!" but was countered by "Confuscius he say, Dlinking beer in any cup good cheer. I own beer company!" In the end nobody will ever get to what Nature offers though, if you see the Volcano as being the ultimate kiln.