Taller de Cerámica La Serena
Pilar Mari, the expert in ceramics and color
Visiting Pilar's workshop was pending for @tripticity_. We seized the opportunity of the 3rd Harvest Celebration of Cachi to coordinate this meeting. And so it was that when we reached the intersection of provincial route 33 with national route 40, we chose to continue a few more meters -as Google Maps showed us- to find La Serena, Pilar's universe.
Built with local materials, such as adobe and cane, it is shaped like Chakana, the sacred symbol of Andean and pre-Columbian cultures, a staggered cross associated with the idea of living in harmony with nature.
And so is La Serena, the space inside a Chakana that the expert created and that is a reminder of the practice of gratitude. In her words: “Don't forget the basics, don't forget to enjoy, don't forget about time... time comes and goes, things always come, but enjoy; then, I learn all the time and when I forget this space makes me grateful to be here”.
Her job as a tourist guide took her to Patagonia in her youth. It was in El Calafate where she got in touch with ceramics.
A bit self-taught, she began to turn clay into pieces. Adriana Ariztazábal taught her how to make the pastes.
She continued her training with Marianne Alonso in La Lucila in 2010.
There in El Calafate she met Emilio, her partner, current Intendant of Los Cardones National Park, who invited her to accompany him to Formosa when he returned from Antarctica. It was then that they settled in the Pilcomayo River National Park.
It was during those years that she specialized remotely with the teacher Jorge Fernández Chiti, at the Condorhuasi Institute.
Today an expert in the craft of creating the pieces and making the colors, she always chose to do everything herself, from the paste with her clay to the alchemy of colors.
When they settled in the Calchaquí Valleys, it became clear that she had to set up her own workshop, building her own pottery kiln. And so La Serena was born.
Pilar emphasizes the importance of fire as the defining element of each piece, which transforms clay into ceramic.
Arriving in these lands, with so much history, was a challenge for her because she wanted to delve into this ancient culture, learning the techniques used by pre-Inca cultures in the manufacture of extraordinary pieces.
And that is how she became an expert in archaeological ceramics.
She feels La Serena as a giving space, because the land is very generous, and so she spends her days in her Chakana, grateful to be in serenity, that of enjoying what one does.
La Serena also invites you to enjoy this universe of peace, because Pilar offers workshops and seminars for artists and people from all over the world who are interested in ceramics. During those days, the proposal is to relax, connect with the environment, practice yoga, and then enjoy a journey into the world of ceramics, while Pilar describes (as a good tour guide) the characteristics of the valleys, of that energetic place, joining with joy and serenity with her technical knowledge about clay and color.
And so the ceramist reminds everyone that it is possible to achieve desires, in this space full of symbols that evoke nature, harmony and love.
