Ser mulher ceramista: narrativas sobre arte-trabalho-educação

Abstract

How is working with clay intersected and crossed by gender relations in the process of being a woman and a ceramist? Between shaping the clay; academic paths; wandering through fairs and workshops; and listening to the life stories of women ceramists, the theoretical frameworks, specific objectives, and methodologies used in this exhibition were constructed. The theoretical framework of the research is based on feminist and decolonial epistemologies. The research aimed to address the triad of art-work-education and its intertwining with gender relations in the trajectories of women ceramists from the city of Sorocaba, in the interior of the State of São Paulo. These women were found through an independent art fair called Feira do Beco do Inferno; a political choice, since this space (or event) can be understood as an educational social movement. There is a sentence frequently used by ceramists: “clay has memory”. When this perspective is adopted, this research admits that clay captures and materializes knowledge, experiences, affections, giving form to feelings as a symbolic expression. Furthermore, it can be a path to subjectivation and autonomy, conferring the identity of artist or craftswoman to those who produce it. In ceramics, the triad of art-work-education intersects and interacts at different scales in the trajectories of women ceramists. Knowledge of ceramics allows access to a sensitive experience, to the dimension of the erotic and the construction of other work possibilities. The research also discusses the teaching/learning processes of ceramics as part of the concept of artisan pedagogy.