South American pottery
In this group of hand-crafted ceramics, indigenous women of Ecuador have created beautiful objects made both for daily use and for family income. Using clay gathered from forests the female potters make the forms using a hand-building method, by which coils are applied on top of one another and smoothed until the desired shape is complete. Each piece is colored with pigments from the earth and often decorated using very fine brushes made of just a few strands of human hair, and then pit fired with wood and ash. Finally, the hot piece is rubbed with hardened tree sap which melts and creates a protective and glossy surface that enhances the paint colors. While some of the objects in this portfolio were made for the consumption or storing of food or drink, the majority are figurative forms that illustrate the mythology of the region and the Canelos Quichua culture.
