Ceramic Program
Sachaqa offers courses in ceramics, natural paper (using the leaf as opposed to the wood pulp,) painting with natural colors (earth and plants), weaving chumbes great for textile lovers and basket weaving.
If you are interested to learn embroidery, folk dances, or the Quechua language through the indigenous Chazutinos and Lamistas, let us know and we will arrange to find you a teacher.
Chazuta -
The Chazutinos possess a dynamic culture expressing themselves artistically through its ceramics. The ceramics have always played a vital role in the community, making the Chazutinos famous for being bona fide potters and for their distinctive style of molding clay into high-quality luxury pottery for festivals and for burying the dead.
Chazuta’s traditional pottery is based on the known and widespread technique of rolls of clay, which are overlapped and smoothed to shapes dishes for different purposes. The painting is pre-fired and polishing is done with a small round pebble. The traditional oven is open, with stacked firewood used as fuel.
The ceramics course can be from half a day to two days long it depends on how many different shapes you would like to learn. You will start with a basic bowl shape then move on towards more complicated styles.
On the second day, you can have fun painting your work and learn the symbols of the 'Chazutinos' tradition.
Lamas
The Lamistas of Chiricyacu and Lamas also offer a less intensive, one day class in basic ceramic bowl making.
Ancestral Wisdom - Ceramics Chazuta
Mother concept - which includes that of origin, but at the same time, that of protection. It is the same as the concept of “mama”, so universal during the period of the Tahuantinsuyo, that was certainly an old concept. The mother of all waters is the “mamacocha”, as well as the “mamapacha” is the mother of the earth, which provides us products that enable life.
Flowers and stars are the most commonly used features in pottery. In both cases, a larger and more complex flower or star is identified as a “mother”, emphasizing its importance and hierarchy on the others.
Paper Making
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Chazuta -
You can learn how to make paper in this workshop using the pulp of Banana trees which is normally cut and wasted after the banana fruit is ready, coconut is also used. Making paper by hand is by no mean an easy process, you can help with this physical process or just watch and learn. Once you have learned this paper making technique it will be possible to make paper using organic materials found in your local environment.
Natural Pigments
Stones and earth - In the rivers of Chazuta and San Roque you can find a pallet of colors that you can grind and mix with a binder to make paint. Trina Brammah has been painting with these stone/clay pigments for the past 8 years and can show residents the best way to paint with them.
Making natural pigments is labor intensive, it takes time and patients. You can begin by collecting pigments from your local area, have a look in your natural environment, what did the indigenous people of your area use?
Binders - for oil paints Linseed or Walnut oil work the best. I have made a mix of wax and linseed oil to attempt to speed up the drying process, this works really well for some artists. For acrylic paints, a binder with a UV filter such as PVA or acrylic medium. Egg tempera is also an option although the surface has to be a solid ground and is only possible to paint on wood or board with this technique.
The best way to make paintings that last in any medium is to use the Primer – best-bought primer, there are natural recipes but to be honest, the base is the most important part and I advise artists to bring with them a really good primer to protect the canvas from mold, fungus etc.
Plant pigments - fade in time so they need a binder with some protection like walnut oil or a UV filtered glue. A good way to use plant pigments is to dye your canvas first with the bright, cold colors plants can produce. Then when your canvas is clean of all salt, vinegar etc removed then a clear primer can be applied ready for the next stage.
Chumbe weaving
Chiricyacu
Chiricyacu is a one hour walk from the village of San Roque. Here you can learn how to make the traditional Lamista chumbe belt, used as an all-purpose rope, for carrying heavy loads, that carry foods collected from the fields. As is seen commonly throughout the local communities.
The chumbe decorations are very symbolic you can learn what these symbols mean during your class. It is an opportunity for any artist seeking to learn a unique and ancient textile craft. The village of Chiricyacu itself is breathtaking.
