Greetings from Somoto ! My apologies for the multiday silence, but not only have we been having ceramic adventures galore, but there hasn´t been a ¨Cyber¨in sight (pronounce that see-bear, as in an internet cafe). Our two and a half day experience in the Santa Rosa agricultural collective with the Gutierrez family was just amazing. Angela, her daughters Consuelo and Jadira, and Consuelo´s husband Isidro welcomed us with hugs when we arrived each day, and sent us away with more hugs when we left in the late afternoon. They demonstrated for us, and we demonstrated for them, and we all made pots collaboratively as well. Under Robert Piller´s direction we built them a really cool barrel kiln for future firings, using local bricks that we cut with saws and machetes. We never thought it would work out, but we finished it in record time with everyone helping out. Their clay is wonderful stuff, incredible for both throwing and handbuilding, and Angela took us on an amazing hike through farm fields of corn and tomatoes and onions and peppers, then down into a low area near a stream where they have their mango and banana trees. It was there, while farming, that they found their current clay site. There are about 600 people who live in this flawlessly organized collective, and everyone who is allowed to join after a one year trial period both farms and pursues individual skills, such as the pottery business the Gutierrez family has established. Needless to say, at the end of our visit no one wanted to leave and we were given an open invitiation to return. Lovely, lovely people.
On Sunday we relaxed at a rural homestay accommodation high up in the cloud forests of the Miraflor Nature Preserve. It´s a fascinating combination of regulated land with working farms, and they are in the early stages of developing ecotourism in this pristine location. The electricity at our farmhouse was all solar, and in the evening we dined by candlelight on marvelous vegetarian food and slept under piles of blankets in the fresh, cool air.
Today we had a truly unforgettable experience as we made the 4 wheel drive journey and vertical hike (not kidding REALLY steep hill we walked up) to the mountaintop cooperative of Loma Panda, where a group of five women descended from traditional functional vessel makers are now created an endlessly diverse range of highly expressive figurative sculptures. Their signature work is making unique ceramic dolls in many sizes, all individually painted and with movable arms and legs. And again, a lovely group of women who welcomed us in, showed us what they knew, and were very grateful for our demonstrations and the knowledge we shared with them. The collaborative aspect of this trip has made our journey so very special.
Tomorrow we leave the northern potters behind and head south for the final days of our trip. Tomorrow night we are staying at a backpacker´s paradise called The Monkey Hut at beautiful Lake Apoyo, and Thursday we spend the day at the overwhelmingly incredible pottery village of San Juan de Oriente. That´s a lot of adjectives, but I visited in March and even after thirty years in ceramics I was totally blown away. I expect the students to have a similar reaction. Then Friday afternoon we head home on American Airlines, and should be back in Ft. Myers by midnight. I´m sure all your phones will be ringing as we drive across the Everglades.
Until then,
Tricia and the ´Gringa Circus´ (we´ll explain later...)
