Micaceous Pottery
I love micaceous clay pottery. Micaceous clay is a clay that naturally contains a high propotion of mica. Mica is a great natural conductor of heat & as a result, allows micaceous cookware to hold heat extremely well. The local Pueblos & native peoples of Northern New Mexico have used this clay for cookware for over 1000 years, and still maintain a sacred tradition around its collection and use.
I was taught the Apache coil & scrape method by Felipe Ortega, Jicarilla Apache master potter. The coil & scrape method of making pots is an ancient method that predates the more usual wheel used in modern ceramics. I saw potters in Zambia creating beautifully symetrical pots in 1996 using this method and was fascinated by the control & precision they used. I have also seen Neolithic pots in European museums built using coils, although in Europe, this method was augmented with the "fast wheel" over 3,000 years ago and eventually gave way, in more recent times, to wheel thrown pottery. In parts of Greece & more easterly Europe, you can still find some traditional potters, who build their pottery using coils & a wheel, rather than throwing pots.
Meeting Micaceous clay has been a gift to me. I often tell people that working with this clay is what keeps me sane! My kitchen has many pots that I use for cooking & I also make pottery to sell. This year, I have been fascinated with a round shape bowl, that I have called "Nest Bowls". I use one of them as a Medicine Bowl for my workshops. If you would like to talk to me about making a cook pot or Medicine bowl, please contact me.
My husband and I have had an annual workshop with Felipe Ortega since 2002 that combines pottery making & Deep Imagery. (see "The Vessel & The Voice 2007"). The clay mirrors so much what is happening in ourselves that the pot reading by Felipe at the end of the workshop, often exactly plots the course of the weeks work for the participants. I know that is true also for myself. The clay mirrors what is within me on a given day as I work with it. I am grateful for its presence in my life, grateful that Felipe Ortega and lately, Brian Grossnickle have both been so generous with their teachings and to Clay Mother herself, who persued me until I listened.