POTTERY

If one travels up north, he would right away be captivated by the magnificent pots displayed along the narrow borders of San Juan, La Union, particularly in Barangay Taboc, whose folks’ ingenuity has remarkably sprawled over one place to another.

Pottery-making in the Philippines dates back to the days of our Filipino ancestors when they placed their clay containers on the embers of an open fire to cook food. In Albay, people use the coron or a cooking pot. Bicol has “”pikpik” which refers to the repeated paddling needed to compress and strengthen the clay mixture and other forms of pottery in some tribal territories in the country.

In La Union, it has been long embraced as a way of life to every household whose members sit down together the whole day to bring the beauty of pottery out of clay.

As a living witness to this art, Manong Rudy, has been converting soil into pots for sale for over 70 years now. “Pot-making is already circulating through my veins since I inherited it from my forefathers thus served not only as our ancestral livelihood but also a genuine “treasure” in the mountain, which, I observe, seems not to get depleted despite its being frequently dug.”

Now, with 7 grown-up children – the oldest being 45 years old, and the youngest, 28 – he still loves to mold the clay that has virtually molded his life and family as well.

Just like any other work of art, pottery making does not only draw out more of a person’s artistry if not his covert attributions, but it also helps him pattern and nurture a legacy that would live on and on.

While demonstrating, he says, “first, we have to dig clay from the mountain for ten pesos per sack now (before it was two pesos).” Actually, the clay comes in three colors: white, black and red for a solid outcome. The clay is sun-dried and it goes through sifting to clean it of twigs and pebbles.

Then, it is crushed with stone, pulverized and sifted again.

“It is not that easy though to make pots as we do it manually or the traditional way,” he said. Nowadays, there are already some pot makers who find the task a lot easier when using the advance technology that can produce piles of creations with ease and uniformity.

Once it is formed into a beautiful artwork through a template, it has to be dried slowly for several days. Then, it is ready to be exposed in the kiln which usually situated at the backyard with a sort of a roof so as to shield it from the excessive heat of the sun.

The ground is covered with sand and at least three layers of bagul (dried coconut shell), guhi (bamboo stalks) and dry pieces of wood.

The pots are arranged on top of the bed of wood. A fire is lit in the center and then the “ata” (rice husk) is quickly shoveled over the pots to seal in the heat.

The process takes almost a week.

Basically, it takes a skill to make a pot or any related products. It is just counting the years of practice to perfect the process without the benefit of written manuals.

To date, San Juan products range from the famous “dalikan” or the traditional cooking stove, bricks, jars, fountains, lamps and other earthenware products of varied sizes and designs. These, which are being sold at a reasonable cost, have been boosted by the tourism package of the Province of la Union to local and foreign tourists.