Terracotta
San Jose' de Gracia
7" x 5"

Made by Augustine Hernandez, his work is in the style of the town San Jose' de Gracia; known worldwide for its ceramic pineapple water jugs. It is used for burning copal, a general term for a fragrant resin collected from a variety of tropical trees. The word copal comes from the Nahua word copalli which means incense. I did buy some copal but I would never use this piece for it, ironic huh! It is too lovely to risk possible damage. Augustine has been making ceramics for 14 years, he learned how to from his father. He told us there are less and less people making the ceramics in his town, it was true, we saw very few people making ceramics in a town globally known for its work. Augustine collects the clay from a nearby mountain. He was a lovely, simple 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”?