The workshop where ceramics happen

In Artevasi's handmade ceramic collection, are there any pots that stand out for their detail or are more difficult to make than others?
In the area of pots, the pots are all very similar. The lines are straight, and there is not much work involved in the pot, so to speak.

For example, Aura is a pot that stands out for the lines that mark its pattern. How is this detail made?
We call them rollers. Basically, it's almost like a gear in a gearbox. We put the grooves in the piece and, as it slides down the pot, it creates this "cart" effect.

Once moulded, how long does it take for a pot to solidify, on average?
It depends. In summer, for example, it's faster. But after moulding, on average, the process of drying a pot takes about two days, although I'm thinking more about winter. In summer, it takes a little less time, but it always ends up going to the kiln. Unless we're talking about those scorching hot days, when we take the opportunity to dry the pot directly in the sun.

Right now, we are talking in the office that was once literally a century-old kiln. When it was in operation, were there many differences in the pot production process? Or have the techniques remained unchanged over time?
The techniques we use are practically the same, with a few differences. In the past, for example, animals were used to knead the clay. In my grandparents' time, that's how it was done. They would place the clay on the ground, and the animals would trample on it to break it up and make it soft. Then they would take the clay to bend it. In other words, they took a piece of clay, cut it with their hands, beat one piece against another, cut a little more, beat one piece against another, and so on... Then they ran their hands through the clay to see if they could find any stones, and every time they found one, they had to remove it, which was a lot of work (laughs).

That's how it was done in the old days (laughs)...
Exactly. And in winter, when the clay was soft, they would literally throw it against the wall. The wall absorbed the moisture from the clay and made it harder. Hence the expression 'to throw clay against the wall'. The clay would stick to the wall and when it hardened, it would fall to the floor.

As for the future, do you see your descendants continuing with the workshop?
At the family level, it will be very difficult to continue this, because my daughters, for example, are already in other areas. And I have three nephews who are also not very interested. We see potters working on the wheel and think it's easy, but it's not. Two years ago, I invited one of my nephews to come here to help during the holidays, and he only came here one afternoon. He couldn't even straighten the clay (laughs). Naturally, he lost motivation. You really have to like it. I have an employee who took a course in mechanics before coming here. He started working with the wheel at the age of 20, but he earned very little because he couldn't produce anything. Starting to work and not earning money is very difficult. Because it's really hard, there are people who can't even make one piece at the end of a month. You really have to have a certain aptitude and, above all, really like it.

The clay that is, so to speak, wasted in the production of a pot is then reused in a new production, correct?
Yes, unless it is fired. And even then, it is possible to grind the pot and add water to it to be moulded again.

Where does most of the clay used in the workshop come from?
Most of our clay comes from the Viana do Castelo area, although we also work with clay from the Aveiro area, which is distinguished by being more pasty and resembling plasticine. They have very different characteristics.