Ceramicist Rita Badilla-Gudiño explores womanhood through earth, water, wind, and fire

“Your clay work is you. It has your touch, your caresses, and your mark. Working with clay deeply connects us to what it means to be human, who we are, and our place in our community and the world,” shares ceramicist and art educator Rita Badilla-Gudiño.

I have always had a fascination with pottery and the ceramic arts, perhaps because I see the plastic arts as something charged with potential, physicality, and poetry. Sculptures that are produced by hand are objects that reveal much about the maker—one’s touch, nuance, strength, restraint, confidence, virtuosity, and psychological state.

Whether porcelain, terracotta, earthenware, or stoneware, clay allows the maker to form a bond with the earth. Working with clay requires the maker to listen—to both oneself and the material—to produce forms that respect the material’s physical and chemical properties while also embodying the maker’s sensuousness, expressiveness, and aesthetic sensibility.

The act of throwing, forming, building, editing, bisquing, and firing demands mindfulness. The process is slow, rhythmic, and, at times, meditative. There are no shortcuts. 

Spending an entire day with Badilla-Gudiño—sculptor, ceramicist, associate professor at the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts,, and founder of Tahanan Pottery—was an opportune moment to learn about her significant contributions as one of the country’s leading ceramic arts educators.

It was also an opportunity to gain insight into her practice as a sculptor, particularly her renowned work “Lual”—a kiln that doubles as a sculptural piece, evocatively embodying the mystical process of childbirth.

In a 2012 documentary about her seminal work, the late Leo Abaya, former UPCFA professor, visual artist, and thinker, spoke to the gravity and significance of Badilla-Gudiño’s “Lual” within the broader context of Philippine art. “It’s pioneering. Nobody has done it. It’s one for Philippine art history,” Abaya remarked.

For Badilla-Gudiño, “Lual,” as a sculptural work, embodies her journey and pathos as a woman, as a piece charged with archetypal symbolism and autobiographical significance. “I felt that there were equivalents in my experiences in birthing and firing kilns, a consonance of anticipation, apprehension, pain, transformation, and deliverance. Thus, the idea of ‘Lual Kiln Fire Sculpture’ was born. ‘Lual’ is one of a few examples of a new genre in ceramic arts called kiln art, wherein the kiln is a sculpture, and the firing is a performance art,” she explains.

To date, Badilla-Gudiño has created three editions of “Lual.” The first was constructed in 2012 at UPCFA, the second was presented at the 2015 International Ceramics Festival in the United Kingdom, and the most recent edition was built in New Delhi, India for the 2024 Indian Ceramics Triennale held in the first quarter of this year.

During the 2021 virtual International Ceramics Festival, dubbed Rewind, which took place at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2015 iteration of “Lual” was voted as one of the most spectacular performance firings in the festival’s more than 30-year history. Badilla-Gudiño’s presentation of “Lual” at the 57th National Council on Ceramic Art Education Annual Conference in the United States in 2023 was attended by more than 1,800 individuals.

But perhaps Badilla-Gudiño’s most lasting contribution to art history extends far beyond her fiery, evocative, and provocative kiln art. It is arguably her founding of Tahanan Pottery, a vibrant community of ceramicists and ceramics enthusiasts of all backgrounds and ages, which has firmly cemented her place in Philippine art history.

In this conversation, Badilla-Gudiño reflects on what it means to be a “firewoman” whose life’s work has produced seminal pieces that poignantly and powerfully speak to her womanhood and her visceral relationship with the earth. She also shares the story behind Tahanan Pottery and what it means to be a trailblazing “mother” to the country’s next generation of ceramicists.

What is it that makes clay the center of both your artistic practice and your work as an educator, shaping your life’s ikigai in such a profound way?

I am enriched by the process of molding clay into art objects and transforming it into ceramics through firing. Clay artists work with earth and water to create forms and romance fire and wind to give them permanence. Clay is the only medium that allows you to collaborate with the elements of nature: earth, water, fire, and wind, and that, for me, is nothing short of sacramental. My clay work is my prayer, my Magnificat to God’s gift of creation to humanity.

What made you dedicate your life to pottery?

When I started working with clay, I realized there is much more to it than simply forming and creating works. First, you need to think about the material—not just the type of clay to use, such as earthenware, stoneware, or porcelain, etc. but also the materiality of the clay itself—where to prospect, how to test, how to formulate clay bodies to have the characteristics you need for different ways of forming (on the potter’s wheel, hand-built, cast from molds) as well to fire at certain temperatures (low-firing, mid-range, high-firing).

There is also a whole field of study on surface decoration techniques: glazing, image transfer, sgraffito, wax resist, oxide washes, etc., and methods and techniques of firing to get different colorations and surfaces. Glazing alone requires knowledge of chemistry, lab work, and experiments to get the right formulation compatible with the type of clay used and its firing temperature.

Knowing this made me realize that I need a lifetime to learn and apply the knowledge, skills, and techniques to my art practice, so I decided to dedicate my life to ceramic art.

What parallels can be drawn between pottery and life?

As clay responds to the pressure of my touch and the mark I make, I have learned to become sensitive to the moisture clay contains over time to work with it successfully. Having this second nature informs me when to move forward and when to put on the brakes. Timing is of the essence, as clay work also needs to breathe and release moisture to gain strength. Working with clay is like establishing a relationship. One needs time to experience it to capture its possibilities and limitations. Eventually, these exchanges yield who you are.

Can you share with us the ideas that influence and shape your visual language?

I explore my personal iconography in developing forms for much of my current work. I use symbols, images, or representations of personal meaning and significance to express my beliefs, experiences, or identity. I draw insights from the surrealist movement and use unexpected, illogical juxtapositions, and visual puns in my works. This is intended to stimulate viewers to question, relate, and develop their own interpretation of my visual narrative.

My work also draws ideas from the feminist movement and seeks to challenge traditional gender roles and systemic inequalities. I celebrate feminine aesthetics, experiences, and perspectives as valid and valuable in my works, hoping my art contributes to making us better people.

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What is the vision that has guided and directed Tahanan Pottery all these years?

Tahanan leads the way in making ceramic arts more accessible through quality ceramic work and specialized teaching services as well as by providing our community of potters with materials, tools, and equipment to develop their ceramic art practice. We aim to build a thriving pottery community that inspires, learns, and challenges each other to develop and promote Philippine ceramic arts.

Each of our works tells a unique story, reflecting shared passion, individual artistic journeys, and our communal aspirations to promote and develop Philippine ceramic arts. These are what define and move our creative pottery community, and this is what we choose to share with others.

Who are the artists whose works inspire you?

Locally, I find solidarity in the artistic journey of women artists Agnes Arellano and Julie Lluch. Their focus on feminist issues and how women are portrayed, both in the past and present and our society and personal lives, also resonates in my work. For inspiration, I look at the works of Nina Hole, Sergei Isapov, and Cristina Cordova.

Visual artist Agnes Arellano said, “Sculpting is like a state of oblivion—all your research, ideas, everything in your brain just goes down and flows through your fingers.” If you were to leave us with a quotable quote about the essence of your practice, what would it be?

Always approach your art practice with passion and curiosity, as it is a personal journey. Let it be a space for your soul to expand and evolve. Do not cut corners; strive to do your best while accepting your limitations. Every creative moment deepens your understanding of yourself and your place in the world.

What makes you happy?
Work. I start my day at three o’clock in the morning and end at six in the evening. I find happiness in ticking boxes on my to-do list every day. I used to get stressed out when things did not go as planned or I didn’t get to do as much. But as I age, I try to do so with grace by not being too hard on myself.

Why are you an artist?

Art is a transformative process that allows me to express insights, capture emotions, and connect with deeper parts of myself. I value more my experience while working on a piece. The output is just a bonus, the culmination of my exchanges with clay, fired to permanence into a ceramic object. Ultimately, the greatest reward is the profound experience of becoming more fully myself through my creative journey.

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