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82 years old Mrs. Ana Gonçalves de Andrade Rosa is one of the oldest potter in the area of Vale do Alto Ribeira, near the town of Apiaí. “Many have gone, but their relatives remain and they still work with clay. I’ve been doing it since I was a child. The clay I use for my work is hidden under the ground. Some of it can’t take salt, but there’s a certain kind that can be used for cooking, no problem. I used to work the land, but we’ve always made all the pots we needed for our own home. Now that I’m older I only work with clay.”
Mrs. Ana, like Laura Garcez (deceased in 1996), Custódia Pontes and Aparecida Leite (deceased in 2001), are representatives of a tradition that started with the native Itararé tribes that used to live in the area. “I live in the neighbourhood of Gurutuba, in Itaoca. I first came across this clay because one day it was raining, I slipped and when I touched the ground I thought it was good enough for making pots. And it was. I extract the clay, dry it out, grind it and prepare it for moulding. It takes a long time, because we must build up the pot, let it dry and then carry on.” |
