Other than the natural scenery, Tibiao is also known for its production of earthenware.
Bandoja, formerly known as Lupa-an, is a barangay in Tibiao rich in clay reserves. Here are where pots and bricks are made in the province of Antique.
Pottery is both an art and a science. It’s something I’ve always wanted to try and I am lucky enough to have experienced it. It’s actually very technical and entails an arduous process.
For a lump of clay to be molded into a pot, there must be enough water added to make it workable before placing it on the center of a spinning platform called the wheel.
The damp clay is then kneaded and shaped with the turning of the wheel in a steady pace, adding water whenever needed to keep the clay soft and pliable. Using a certain amount of pressure, the middle of the clay should be carefully pressed all the way down to the bottom to form an opening.
Then working it from the inside out, with the constant turning of the wheel, it is shaped to the desired form with its rough sides smoothed. (Hi Sir Alex!)
When it’s done, the clay pot is removed from the wheel by sliding a tightly stretched string through the base of the pot.
Here are our finished pots! Well, sort of.
They first need to be air-dried for a number of weeks till they become bone dry.
Then they will be fired in this thermally insulated chamber called the kiln.
Tada! This is how they look like when they’re done. 🙂
If you wanna do something different and challenging, I highly recommend you try pottery here in Tibiao, Antique. Special thanks to the potters of Tibiao and Sir Alex Española for taking us here!