7" x 5"
Terracotta & Glaze
MEXICO

Made by Augustine Hernandez, whose work is in the style of San José de Gracia, a town known worldwide for its ceramic pineapple water jugs. Copal is a fragrant resin collected from a variety of tropical trees. The word comes from the Nahua word copalli which means incense. I did buy some copal but I would never use this piece for buring it as it is too lovely to risk possible damage. Augustine has been making ceramics for 14 years, he learned how from his father. He told us there are fewer and fewer people making the ceramics in his town. Augustine collects the clay from a nearby mountain. He was a lovely, unassuming, and quiet man, making his craft to get by. He believes in the value of craft; it is a belief that in some parts of the world is increasingly hard to find. How different is “fine craft” from “fine art”? You decide.