Terra principles & philosophy

At Terra, we believe in …

-Promoting traditional clay practice as a way to better understand ourselves, mother earth and create wiser plans for the future.

-Placing the knowledge and skills of ancestral potters/artisans above the western and academic cannon of pottery. (We, like many others, are bored of the patriarchal western authorship of ceramics.)

-Supporting ancestral clay artisans where-ever possible to continue their work for future generations and where such knowledge has been lost or is threatened, instigating a programme of reclaiming and rekindling these lost clay practices.

In practical terms this means …

We work with indigenous and ancestral artisans to develop a teaching practice that creates an additional form of income beyond selling their work, particularly in contexts where it is becoming hard for them to do so.

Paying the Maestra’s and Maestros the same that we and others are paid in the west to teach in arts and craft institutions. This is a very key principle for us, and one which we have followed from the start.

Document through film and storytelling places where traditional pottery is particularly threatened and create training and employment opportunities for those who wish to continue these ancestral practices.

Terra Ancestral does not believe ...

To understand pottery you must know how to use fancy gadgets or techniques or need a lot of money or specialist equipment. We believe in a truly elemental and intuitive approach.

In whitewashing ancestral or indigenous artisan practices or exploiting artisans (In particular, we are disturbed by the trend of established artists and makers use artisans to further their careers without acknowledging where the support came from)

That anybody who visits an artisan deserves anything. The fact that the doors of the homes of those we work with are opened to anyone outside the family or immediate community is an enormous privilege.