Day Three of an Artist Residency in Colombia:Clay As Teacher || 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 Three — Clay as Teacher
By the third day, the process became deeply meditative. Hours passed through our hands wedging, observing, comparing, learning. Some clays were smooth and forgiving while others were short and stubborn.
Each one carried its own history.
Working with these clays reminded me how ancient this material truly is.
Clay carries the memory of erosion, rain, minerals, pressure, fire, and time itself. I
t is a collaboration between the elements, our oldest ancestors, existing together over thousands of years.
Nothing in nature creates itself alone.
It reminds me that neither do we.
And clay mirrors that back to me everyday.
It teaches patience. Humility. Interdependence. Transformation.
The more time I spent with these clays, the more I understood that clay is not just a material.
It is a teacher.
A living archive.
Tune in next Week for last Week of Reflections.
Curious about ancestral firing practices and earth-centered ceramics? We are your place for that.
The only Latino Owned Pottery Studio in San Francisco, California .
Join Gabi for our Fall Equinox Pit Firing Workshop on September 20th.
Can’t catch this one. See our calendar for what Seasonal Workshops we have going on,
