A fascination for the potter's wheel
- Javier makes his ceramics on the potter's wheel
- He crafts functional pieces as well as artistic ones
- He works mainly with stoneware paste
For Javier Wijnants it all started as a hobby at the age of 13. When he turned 17 he began to work as an assistant and apprentice in a ceramics workshop, and later trained with other potters and in other workshops. "Ceramics and pottery on the wheel captivated me, with the desire to investigate and delve more deeply into various techniques. When I learned about the possibilities of stoneware, it ended up determining my vocation for this craft," says Javier. "In 1996 I did my training in stoneware, at Taller Barrientos, a course of stoneware pastes and glazes, with Carlos Barrientos and Julio Roldan, among other workshops and courses, seminars, symposiums and meetings with ceramicists in Uruguay and Argentina," he says. At present, his production centres on the potter's wheel, both for the production of functional and signature pieces. Javier is constantly researching pastes, mainly stoneware and stoneware glazes.
Interview
- How does Uruguay relate to your pottery?
- Mainly in the transformation of national raw materials, clays from deposits, and self-collected clays that I use. Some of my series of sculptural volumes refer to the Uruguayan identity, the territory, and the possibility of travelling through the land.
- What does well made mean to you?
- I seek to adjust the raw material formulas for the pastes, engobes and glazes, looking for finishes of neatness and quality, required by customers but also imposed by me.
- What would you tell a young potter?
- I would tell him or her to be guided by his or her convictions. Pottery is a wonderful world to share and make with others and for others. Conviction in making serves for even the most difficult moments.
- Could your craft be considered endangered?
- I have been hearing about it since I started. In Uruguay, ceramic factories were closing in the 1990s. There was always uncertainty about the future of the craft, and I never knew the 'golden era' of Uruguayan ceramics that other older colleagues remember.
Javier Wijnants is a master artisan: he began his career in 1997 and he started teaching in 1997
Where
Javier Wijnants
