Galicia

Gijon is a large town with a strong fishing industry and guess what - the day after I arrived it was Feria! And every one was out on the beach using these wonderful tents as refuge from the sun and wind. I was very tempted to find out if I could buy one. It was the town's Saint's day and there was an open air mass going on, for those who where interested, but most people where more interested in eating and drinking. If you went into a bar you would find yourself in front of a row of green bottles and a wet floor. This is because you can only purchase a bottle of cider, not a glass, and then the bar-tender pours the cider from a very impressive height so that lots of air gets into the drink, because it is best while bubbly, once the drink goes flat you throw the rest into a drain on the floor. A man very kindly let me have a glass, I was not prepared to drink a bottle as I was driving on to Galicia.

I stayed in two amazing places in the ¨Rivera Sacra¨ region. This area is real wine country and the vineyards are on very steep slopes. So, the villages are quite isolated and I am told that only 50 years ago you could see people in this region live authentically medieval lives. This is a region of Spain where a huge percentage of its population immigrated to other parts of the world. Life must have been quite tough.

I met some amazing makers, luckily for me, Galicia does produce a sort of ¨Crafts¨ magazine called ¨Obradoiro¨ and I found a lovely couple who where very happy to invite me over to their home and studios. Anna Champeney is a weaver with a curatorial background and is collecting samples of traditional textiles as well as producing beautiful products out of linen which, she has dyed herself. Her partner, Lluis Grau is a well-respected basket maker and a member of the Basket makers Association who use 6 Queen Square.

He is originally from Cataluña but moved up to this region with Anna and is now an expert on Galician as well as Catalan baskets.

I really enjoyed spending most of the day with them talking about the importance of craft as a social manifestation of culture and essential in creating a link between the future and the past.

They explained why Spain does not recognize craft as something of cultural or artistic value. Craft is subsidized and administered by the ministry of industry and not the ministry of Art and Culture. So they are only interested its profitability. I could go on.... but I wont. I am itching to write a few articles and talk to a few people back in Madrid.

Lluis showed me some lovely baskets made for very specific purposes. These have now either been substituted with plastic objects or the task for which they where made is no longer done. They sit around like rare exotic birds, saved from extinction by craftsmen like Lluis, who get pleasure merely out of their beauty and history.



There is a Basket whose shape fits perfectly on top of your shoulders and over your head, to pick grapes in the field with. You can see it in the photo on the floor.

The place where Anna and Lluis live is magical and the rent a cottage out where you can come and learn one of these crafts; check out the website: www.casa-dos-artesans.com



I enjoyed a wonderful wooden plate of spaghetti, washed down with a glass of wine from the neighbor’s vineyard.




The other maker I went to see was a young guy known as Elias of Gundivos. He is a ceramicist who uses one of the oldest methods of turning have come across. He is the last in his village to do this and has been renovating a medieval rectory to house his collection of old pots and give workshops. He also hopes to attract other ceramicists for lectures and conferences. He is very aware of the importance of this unique tradition and I met him just as he starts to launch himself outside of Galicia.


He showed me around this amazing building, with its fantastic courtyard where he gives his demonstrations. Inside, the wooden planks on the floor are at least 45cm wide and the stonewalls where at least 80cm thick.



He uses a low wooden turning table, which he turns with his foot. After firing the pot in a wooden stocked oven, he scorches the object in a fire and once it is black he waterproofs the inside by sprinkling resin powder, which melts and turns into a liquid while you line the inside. These pots and wine vessels are the closest thing to the way the Romans made their pots!

Elias considers himself a laborer, not even a craftsman and everything he does is for his village. To put it on the map. He is succeeding in that tourists now come to him. He does not go to craft fairs, however he sells his wonderful pots for as little as 7 euros.

I left this region determined to come back and do some more exploring. I was spending that last few days on the west coast writing up my interviews and organizing next week in Madrid.