A potter's story

This is not an article on religion, but my story is about a potter who himself created ripples in Cebu’s art scene. Just a ripple, maybe because of the choice of gallery where his works were displayed – totally out of the way, discretely situated in Mandaue’s food street, and with self-important staffs (they actually told me that my photographer deserved to be ignored and insulted so that he would learn his lessons, the nerve!) who seems to have no idea of the cultural value of the treasures they have.

I don’t blame them though because most do think it absurd for their palayok or plates to be works of art. But mind you, they are, and in defiance to the popular notion that they only become works of art if they have beautiful paintings on them or if they look distorted and totally weird, I would say that no matter how simple the pot is, the fact that it is shaped out of the imagination of an artisan, that in itself merits for it to become a work of art.

The beauty of pottery as an art work is its functionality. It can be used and at the same time be appreciated.

Its shape defines its function. Long necked pots are used for pouring, deep wide-mouthed ones for storing. Flat ones as plates, and then there are also the cups, the bowls, the vases, etcetera etcetera.

To make it out of the ordinary, a potter may put carvings or drawings on it, or he may glaze it using different materials to create beautiful patterns, textures and character. And he can also play with the temperature by which to cook the pots.

Techniques in applying the glaze also vary. He can dip it, spray it, brush it, pour it, or combine these different techniques.

There are countless of ways that would make one piece of pottery unique, and the result will always depend on the expertise and the imagination of the potter.

Hadrian Mendoza is a genius potter, a master of his craft. Last month some of his works were brought to Cebu for an exhibit simply called Glazed Terra Cotta. What made his works extraordinary is the creative use of glaze to make sense of a nonsensical abstract work that simply looks like careless and serendipitous patterns. Serendipity indeed.

He used the Pinatubo ash for glaze as well as ashes from other indigenous hardwood and plants like ipil and sugarcane.

Mendoza’s pieces reflect his desire to embrace his being a Filipino. Educated in the US, he migrated back to the Philippines to trace his roots. He found it through pottery and since 1999 has taught the craft to many who have envisioned to raise the prestige of the craft to a higher level. At present he teaches pottery at the prestigious Philippine High School for the Arts in Los Baños, Laguna.

His themes play around Philippine folkloric characters like the mystical Bulol and the enchanting tikbalang. Inspiration also comes from the pre-colonial era like the Manunggol Jar, believed to be used in olden times to transport the dead to the other world.

The drip of the glaze has given his pieces the texture that defines what the object is supposed to be. Take the Bamboo series for example. Here, he not only created the divisions that are prominent on bamboos, of which the collection took inspiration and thus the name, but the flow of the glaze has given the work more texture and giving it a surreal aura. His work reflects the spontaneity that is so familiar among artists.

Ok, so I reminded myself again why I should purchase pottery that I can’t use on my table (not that I can’t use it if I really want to)?

It’s a Hadrian Mendoza.