Last Week: Andalucia

Wow, I can't believe my big buying trip is coming to an end!  I had a great time driving down the coast from Valencia on Tuesday and then spent Wednesday exploring the Cazorla National Park.  This area produces 10% of the world's olive oil, which is not difficult to believe -- the olive groves stretch out in every direction, as far as the eye can see.  Beautiful.

On Thursday, I headed for Sevilla, but made two pottery stops on the way.  The first was impromptu... the hotel owner in Cazorla had mentioned that I really should stop in the nearby town of Ubeda to visit La Alfareria Tito... and I am so glad I did.  Check out some photos of the store I walked into:

I soon met Melchor Tito, who drove me from his store to a small workshop, where there are only 2 work stations: one for Melchor Tito Sr. (first photo below) and one for Melchor Tito Jr.  Talk about a close father-son relationship, these two work together everyday, crafting, painting, and firing their unique ceramic artwork.

I also got a tour and explanation of the traditional (and very elaborate) Arabic firing process they use.  They have the oldest Arabic kiln in all of Europe (that's still functioning) and using it means carefully packing it to capacity, then closely monitoring its progress for the 30 hours it's cooking!  They keep an eye on the heat, section by section, and add kindling (for which they use, not surprisingly, dried olive branches) to certain areas as needed.  Here's Melchor Jr. showing me the tunnel-like entry through which they add kindling.

The whole process is super labor-intensive, which means they only do it once a year.  But the result is beautiful - strong, mineral-based glazes, from rich evergreen and golden honey, to deep cobalt.  It did not take me long to decide Alfareria Tito would make a great addition to the Emilia Ceramics collection!

My next stop was Hermanos Granados in Lucena, a small town near Cordoba.  Because of my detour to Alfareria Tito (and the fact that Melchor Tito was very outgoing and wanted to tell me every detail about his craft), I arrived about 3 hours later than I had expected.  Luckily, Isidoro Granados turned out to be the exact opposite of Melchor Tito -- extremely quiet and only interested in showing me what I asked to be shown.  Here's Isidoro, holding a pitcher.  We joked about how this huge pitcher made him appear even smaller than he really is (probably less than five feet tall). Standing next to me had the same effect!

Despite his shyness, Isidoro was very welcoming.  He answered all my questions and introduced me to the rest of his family (aka, his coworkers).  I had actually visited the Granados family 8 years ago, when I was living in Sevilla and just getting interested in the idea of importing ceramics.  It was great to see their work again in person, as they employ a very traditional Andalusian style that I love.  It's rustic, with a truly functional look and feel.

With that, I ended the pottery portion of my trip and focused my energy on enjoying my old stomping grounds in Sevilla.  It's been awesome toback in this most beautiful and energetic city!  Here are a few parting shots of the Cathedral and of course, my favorite bartenders in Sevilla.

I'll be home Wednesday -- hope to see or hear from you soon!

More from Valencia

I would happily move into La Ceramica Valenciana.  Those of you who have seen my apartment think I have a lot of ceramics... well you haven't seen anything until you've toured the workshop and showrooms at La Ceramica Valenciana.  From the outside, it looks modest -- the surroundings in little Manises (right outside Valencia) are nothing special -- but inside is like an old museum dedicated to beautiful tiles and every size, shape, and color of ceramic piece you can imagine.

I have visited on 4 separate occasions and I continue to be totally amazed by it.  No matter how long you stand in one of the many display rooms, it seems you can always find something new -- a pattern, color combination, etc. that you had never noticed before.  As you could imagine, this makes my job of selecting a sampling of my favorite pieces both extremely difficult and super fun. 

Despite the challenge, after about 3 hours with Mari José yesterday, I finally had a good list together of pieces for the Emilia Ceramics collection.  I've chosen a number of my favorite plates with subjects like the funny animal at the start of this posting, women, boats, birds and flowers.  Of course, we'll also have pitchers, mugs, and bowls that are painted in the same bright, bold colors.  I love the way these pieces are both whimsical and traditional, simultaneously.  They're fun, fresh and yet expertly made.  Speaking of which, I got a private showing from Melchor Zamora, the most senior potter at La Ceramica Valenciana.

Oh and I forgot to mention some of my favorite pieces... the labeled serving pieces.  Here's a little sampling of the fun pitchers, canisters, and bowls we all have to look forward to.

I leave Valencia this morning and below are my parting shots, which I couldn't resist sharing with you.  The first is of a parking lot right around the corner from La Ceramica Valenciana... when I finished my shopping spree I was confronted with this amazing sky.  The second photo shows a billboard for Cruz Campo (my favorite Spanish beer) peeking out above the lovely orange trees.

I've had a great time in this "ceramic city," but am excited for the next leg of my journey... today I head to Larios, a workshop outside Murcia (about 3 hours south of hear).  I don't know anything about Larios, but will definitely keep you posted!

Ceramica Valenciana

Sorry for the delay in writing, but I've been busy.  There's a lot of ceramics in Valencia... not to mention all the great bars and restaurants, museums, beaches, and even a few local festivals keeping me busy.  This is definitely the Spain I fell in love with!  The best part (for me anyway) is that making new friends and eating/drinking well are closely linked with discovering beautiful ceramics here in Valencia.  Ceramics is a tradition revered alongside oranges, Catholicism, and a dangerously good cocktail called "Agua de Valencia."

That helps explain AVEC (Associacion Valenciana de Ceramica), a non-profit that has sponsored my stay here and introduced me to numerous local artists.  Their mission is to support ceramicists (helping them stay current with technology, supplies, etc.) and help promote their craft, which has definitely suffered in the current economy.  Maria Carmen is in charge of promotions and it has been her task to get to know me and my business.  She has been a huge help in introducing me to the best artists in town.  Here's Maria Carmen, showing off some local work:

We spent all day together Thursday and Friday, meeting artists, touring their workshops and picking out pieces.  Here's a glimpse at a few of my favorite artists I met with her help:

Maria José is the 3rd generation owner of Ceramica Valenciana, the most famous of all the workshops in town.  The reason I came to Valencia to begin with was because of the beautiful plates, pitchers, and bowls created by Ceramica Valenciana, not to mention their funky kitchen canisters.  You will definitely see a lot of their work in the future!  I'm going back to the workshop tomorrow to finalize my order and will share more photos with you afterward.

Caesar of Plat y Bol was very modest and helpful... I made a mess of his workshop looking at all his designs.  Here he is showing off a hand-painted clock:

Francisco Romero of Romero Lerma is hilarious... he made me take 5 photos and show him each one until he was satisfied that he looked okay : ).

Juan Carlos teaches ceramics and makes his own in his spare time.  When we visited his small workshop (really just a garage with a giant kiln) he was working on the wheel and when he heard I had done it before, he set me up to make a bowl.  It was really fun, but reminded me just how difficult it is to make even the most basic shape!

Another Francisco... this one runs Ceramicas Chenol along with his father.  When I asked him if he feels pressure to paint as well as his dad, he laughed and asked me why I wouldn't think he was the better painter?!  His dad was not their to defend himself.

My favorites of his pieces were the blue and white plates (pictured below) that show off the classic Arabic style which is very prevalent in Spanish ceramics.

Stay tuned for more tomorrow!  Thanks for reading -- feel free to write any comments or thoughts you might have.

Patrice and Sylviana Voelkel

It's freezing in Provence.  Seriously, I'm not kidding.  It's rainy and cold and windy and, did I mention cold?! The last I checked it's supposed to be sunny and warm in the South of France, at least from April on.  Well, not this week.

With only one day left in France and having already exceeded my pottery budget, I planned to spend today hiking.  But, as I mentioned, the weather did not cooperate.  So I did what seemed most logical: wine-tasting and shopping.  Lucky for me (and you!) I happened to drive by Poterie Voelkel and because it was pouring rain, I stopped.  Here's a shot of my little VW at their back door, as well as a photo of their interior yard... all so picturesque.

 I knocked on the front door of the house and met Patrice, who led me to the little store (below) and claimed he didn't speak English.  Not true.  He spoke and understood just enough English to charm me into buying quite a lot of his beautiful stoneware. 

 Patrice and his wife Sylviane work together.  They use black clay, but when it is fired it comes out looking just like the red clay we're more used to seeing.  Here's Sylviane, hard at work.

The Voelkels glaze their pieces with a variety of liquid-like colors, but I was especially attracted to the marbled blue and celadon, as well as a contemporary chalk white. These pieces are totally different from what I'm accustomed to buying, but I think they will make a great compliment for the more traditional pieces in the collection.

I had a great time in Patrice's store... the artwork was beautiful and the artist could not have been more humble or helpful.  Plus, it was a great distraction from the cold outside.

Tomorrow I leave Provence and head to Valencia, because you know, when it's cold and rainy in Southern France there's only one place to go, Southern Spain : ).   

Merci et au revoir!

Sylvie Duriez

Sylvie lives in the little town of Pertuis (which, when pronounced in French, reminds me of the sound a little bird makes), about 10 minutes north of Aix-En-Provence.  And what a beautiful 10 minutes... rolling green hills, rivers, and fields of yellow flowers (I have to find out what they are).  This is the Luberon, made famous by Peter Moyer's A Year in Provence, and I'm definitely going back for more today!

Sylvie and I met 3 years ago at a pottery market in Marseille.  I quickly fell in love with her work and have been hounding her for more ever since.  She told me I was the most persistent American she had come across.  Sylvie is an artist and not a business person... she does not want to worry about packing, shipping, or accepting credit cards and thus has refused to work with most people who have contacted her from afar.  Apparently, I'm the only one who took her refusal as an invitation to book a ticket and visit her in person. 

Sylvie lives upstairs from her workshop and small showroom.  It's not a lot of space, but she doesn't need much in that she's the sole member of this operation.  She throws each bowl, plate, and pitcher herself, fires them in her small kiln, and then graces each one with an original design.

First Sylvie dips the piece in a base glaze (her's has a yellow/greenish tint to it) and let's that dry.  She then uses a sharp needle to sketch her drawing on the piece.  She insists that she does not create a plan on paper first, nor does she copy a picture... she literally just goes to work with a needle, carving a very fine line through the base glaze.  Then she uses mineral-based colored glazes to create a soft, touchable watercolor effect.

I just could not get over the charm and personality imbued in each original design.  And as you can imagine, this led me to buy a lot!  I felt a connection with each piece and often thought of specific people that they reminded me of.  So I went a little crazy... I think she was sincerely excited for the business, although she did mention that she was going to have a lot of work to do now that I was taking away so many of her pieces!  I'm thrilled to add Sylvie's work to the Emilia Ceramics collection and can't wait to share it with all of you.