The clay people of the Earth, by the South African artist Clive Sithole

Fire gifts; first results of the workshop “The clay people of the Earth, Abantu Bobumba Emhlabeni”, taught by the South African artist Clive Sithole at the National School of Ceramics.

Guided by the artist Clive Sithole, the students of the workshop “The clay people of the Earth, Abantu Bobumba Emhlabeni” experience two types of reduction firings: saggar and smokefiring.
Some pieces were placed in a container with sawdust and pine cones, where they were fired in open air; others entered the gas kiln inside a sealed drum to concentrate the carbon.

Once burnished and some with terra sigillata, the pieces from the workshop “The clay people of the Earth, Abantu Bobumba Emhlabeni”enter the kiln for the first time.

Later the students will be able to experience the synergy between traditional decoration techniques and the reduction firing that characterizes the ceramics of Clive Sithole.

The application of terra sigillata, which means sealed ceramic, is a technique used to close the pore of the clay pieces from a layer of finely decanted clay.

Guided by Clive Sithole, the students of the workshop “The clay people of the Earth, Abantu Bobumba Emhlabeni” use this method after burnishing to give their works a characteristic shine.

Details of the modeling and decoration of a cow, by Clive Sithole.

The South African artist has been making these pieces since he was eight years old, inspired by the work of potters from the mountainous kingdom of Lesotho.

Cattle are a metaphor for wealth in Sithole’s pottery, who takes up the theme in his sculptures and decorative motifs to value his roots and identity having been raised in a culture that reveres herding.

First days of the workshop “The clay people of the Earth, Abantu Bobumba Emhlabeni» with the artist Clive Sithole.

The students seek elegance in their pieces, taking care of their thickness and experimenting with traditional South African decoration in order to capture and reflect the hand of each potter.

Details of the construction of a traditional vessel of the Zulu culture for drinking beer.

Between stories of ancestors, the artist Clive Sithole demonstrates the techniques for its realization and decoration, which not only require manual dexterity, but also a comprehensive understanding of the piece, since shapes, volumes, and the use of certain symbolic elements play an important role for the final result.

These are some pieces made by the students of the workshop The clay people of the Earth, Abantu Bobumba Emhlabeni”, taught by the South African artist Clive Sithole.

Felipe Gallegos

Samantha Ibarra

Jeremy Gercke

Lorena Triana

María José Raad

Elsa Escobar

Maritza Cervantes

Mirentxu Grau

The stay of Felipe Gallegos, artisan from Zacatecas, at the National School of Ceramics was full of motivation and joy to learn new techniques during the workshop taught by the South African artist Clive Sithole.

His trip to Tapalpa, Jalisco, was challenging, because the Zacatecas Secretary of Economy withdrew a scholarship agreed with our institution in order to promote craft development and encourage pottery in the state.
The ENC decided to finance his participation in the course thanks to the support of Alejandro Mañon.
“I return to Las Lajas with many illusions, dreams and commitments to fulfill (…) Clive Sithole is a great teacher (…) his advice, techniques and suggestions have shown me that adversity strengthens us to fight for our dreams”, he says.
We extend our perception of uncertainty due to the breach of institutional agreements by the government of Zacatecas.