In April we received the enthusiastic invitation of Rodolfo Pérez, a potter from Ixtlán de Juárez and a member of the Cooperativa 1050° to climb the mountains of the Sierra Norte and witness the lighting of the new Improved Traditional Oven that we build collectively in March 2023 and affectionately named Esperanza.
Under the sky of Ixtlán we exchange words of emotion and celebrate together this new chapter in the history of the town's pottery trade, which for many years was on the verge of disappearing.
the teacher Amelia Aquino, the last traditional potter in the area and who has shared her knowledge with Rodolfo and a handful of new apprentices who want to continue the tradition. Curiously, in the same month but the previous year, the teacher announced her last burning, which we witnessed.
Each one put their best intentions with copal and we got to work loading the oven with the pieces that Rodolfo made during the last weeks. Once it was full, the teacher Francisca Ocampo and her husband Guillermo Ruiz accompanied Rodolfo at the lighting. They carefully fed the fire with wood to reach the desired temperature, looking through the oven peephole and calculating to later confirm with the pyrometer.
Francisca and Guillermo already use an Improved Traditional Oven in their workshop (the first one we builts) and in addition to coordinating the ignition, they also organized the collective construction of the Esperanza kiln.
A few hours later we finished burning once the kiln reached 864° and through the peephole we verified that the pieces were ready, with the eye of a good potter. Between laughter, hugs and a delicious Zaachila mole (made by Yasmin, Rodolfo's wife) we celebrate what was special about that day.
The Innovado caravan had to return to Oaxaca before nightfall. The next day Rodolfo and his family uncovered the oven to find a treasure trove of ready-made pieces, proof of good burning.
Now comes the good part!: experiment, burn, keep learning and share with the people.
The mud lives
Innovating Caravan: Kythzia Barrera, Diego Mier y Terán, Francisca Ocampo, Guillermo Ruiz, Sindy Ruiz, Fanel Reyes, Julio Saavedra, Adrián Gutiérrez and Sofie Albrecht.
Photos by Fanel Reyes.