Cala

Cala: home of Ceramica Artistica

Here is an idea for an interesting day trip from Santiago.

experienced artisan I first visited Cala with Mónica and another of her students and the student's father. Mónica was excited to introduce us to this fascinating "cottage industry" that she had known from her childhood in Los Andes. This is a business that was founded by some immigrants from Italy, and everything is still done by hand by craftsmen and artists. Each piece is a work of art. This factory/showroom is located in an old house made of adobe. We first visited in November of 2000, when they were in the midst of rennovating the "new for them" building. A half a year later the construction was still going on, at such a slow pace, that I'm not sure what had actually been changed.

The potter at the left has worked for Cala for over 50 years. While talking with him, Mónica was surprised to discover that he is now living in the same house where her aunt used to live!

Not all of the ceramic pieces are thrown on the wheel. For consistancy in sizing and shaping, many of them are formed on molds, although as with all handmade items, probably no two pieces will be exactly alike.

applying the white coat

All of the pieces are made of red clay prepared in pools in the courtyard. They are coated in a layer of white before they can be hand painted.

artist at work

A large number of artists work at painting. One or two of them paint original pictures on decorative plates, but most work on patterns that are repeated again and again as they make entire sets of dishes and serving pieces in a unified pattern. At times they make one of a kind items that are special ordered.

pisco cup being painted shelf

Below is a corner of the large room where there are thousands of pieces in various stages of work. Some of them are drying before being coated with white. Others are waitng until the artists need more blank pieces to work on. Others are being prepared for going into one of the kilns, across the room at right, for firing, and still other shelves are filled with finished pieces that are either cooling or waiting for orders to be filled and to be shipped out.

corner of the drying room

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Below is a corner of the large room where there are thousands of pieces in various stages of work. Some of them are drying before being coated with white. Others are waitng until the artists need more blank pieces to work on. Others are being prepared for going into one of the kilns, across the room at right, for firing, and still other shelves are filled with finished pieces that are either cooling or waiting for orders to be filled and to be shipped out.