Day Two of an Artist Residency in Colombia: The Sacred River || San Francisco Pottery Studio
A reflection by our studio team member and Seasonal Pit Firing facilitator, Gabriela Montufar, on her artist residency experience in the mountains of Medellín, Colombia. Through clay, land, ritual, and community, Gabriela shares what it means to reconnect with ancestral ways of making. Reflections from Hannah Myers, Gabi's bestie who also participated in the artist residency sprinkled throughout.
Day Two — Investigating the Earth
Back at their studio, a breathtaking open-air space overlooking the jungle, we began processing and studying multiple foraged clay bodies they had gathered from different locations in the mountains and the clay we foraged on day one.
Buckets of clay lined the studio, each one carrying a different color, texture, and personality. Some were deep black, others warm ochres or soft grays. We used drills to mix the clays with water until they became silky slip, then sieved them carefully to remove rocks, roots, and organic matter before pouring them onto plaster slabs to dry. We were yapping, laughing, and getting to know one another deeper through this process.
We created shrinkage tests, pinch pots, and separation tests to better understand the clay’s plasticity, strength, and composition. Every step felt intentional. Every test felt like a conversation.
I think that is what impacted me most. Learning to listen to the clay, observe it, and learn from it.
Hannah: “We completed a study on various clays harvested from different regions of the country, exploring shrinkage and absorption rates, testing how they maintain form, and measuring plasticity and kaolin levels. We tuned in with the clay during our communal sieving and sifting processes, working together to remove large particles, feeling into the material: How does it coat your hands? How sandy or grainy is it? What might this clay want to become?”
