ceramica

March 2013- Nicaragua “Potters for Peace” Trip Day 5


Day five was my favorite day of the trip. We all piled into a pickup truck and drove to the bottom of a mountain. The ride was bumpy– sometimes we would get stuck on rocks but our driver, Marvin, never failed to get us over them. When we reached the end of the road we crossed a creek in order to get to the base of the mountain. After the hike up we arrived at Loma Panda, a ceramic group run by four sisters and one daughter. The old ladies were full of charachter. We sat as they told us stories. Their family had been in that same location for over 300 years. It was hard to tell the age of the lady we were talking to– she could be anywhere from low 50’s to upper 60’s. She explained to us how her grandfather’s grandfather (more…)

March 2013- Nicaragua “Potters for Peace” Trip Day 4


I woke up after a night of sleep that confused me. It was one of those nights in which dreams and realities were blurred into one single string of memory. Santa Rosa was a beautiful place–not only physically beautiful. There was a sense of beauty that radiated within and around the people. Being a socialist commune there is understanding and equality throughout all of the people. After eating a delicious fruit breakfast we made the hike to go dig clay. A lady explained to us that she knew there was clay in the forest because of the cracked ground. After carrying bags of clay back to the house we all piled up in our van and drove to their studio. As soon as we (more…)

March 2013- Nicaragua “Potters for Peace” Trip Day 3


We all woke up on the morning of March 9th earlier than anticipated because of the hotel’s dog. He was tied up and had been whining since 4:00am. At breakfast Jorge took the extra pancakes and gave them to Haley saying, “I’ve seen that girl eat.” We packed the van with our luggage and said goodbye to the Hotel Zoy as we drove back to Las Curenas for one last day. Now that the new mortar we had mixed had cured for over 12 hours we were able to begin building the platform and inlay. These two elements to the kiln allowed the ladies to lay the hot pieces down to cool and cover them to smoke. These did not take long to build. Mid-way through (more…)

March 2013- Nicaragua “Potters for Peace” Trip Day 2


Our room woke up early, perhaps because of the bustling city or the barking dog. We sat out in the patio drinking the decadent coffee and waiting for breakfast. Eventually the rest of the girls woke up and joined Hazel and my room in drinking coffee. Haley and Maggie must have had 8 cups each. I asked Robert how high up Jinotaga was. He said he thought it was at an altitude of around 4,500 ft. I think I looked it up later and found out it is at an altitude of about 3330 ft. Robert is quite the charachter. His physical mannerisms are that of a circus contortionist. My favorite thing about Robert over the week was his laugh. It was so genuine just like his vision and passion for Potters for Peace. After a breakfast of tortillas, eggs, rice and beans, and fruit we headed out for a day of work. Our first (more…)