"Hadrian the potter" Manila Standard March 19, 2002 by Tere B. Lopez

Pottery is one of the most ancient arts, with the oldest known body of work dating back to the Jomon period (from about 10,000 to 400 BC) in Japan.  It is interesting to note that even these ceramic works already boasted of a uniqueness and sophistication in technique and design.

Excavations in the Middle East have turned  up primitive fired clay vessels estimated to be more than 8,000 years old.  They were already potters working in Iran by 5500 BC.  In fact, there is a great possibility that earthenware was probably being produced even earlier on the Iranian higher plateau.  Back east, Chinese potters had developed their own techniques by about 5,000 BC.

There are three types of pottery wares- earthenware, stoneware, and Chinese porcelain.  Earthenware is composed of clay (usually blended clays) and baked hard, the degree of hardness depending on the intensity of the heat.  When glaze was invented, earthenware was coated with glaze to make them waterproof.  There were times, though, when glazing was used purely for decorative purposes.  Stoneware is derived from earthenware except that the former is fired at high heat to make it nonporous.  Thus, stoneware became more preferred for home use.  Porcelain is a Chinese invention.  It is believed that porcelain was first made by Chinese potters toward the end of the Han Dynasty (206 BC to AD 220).  It was during this period that pottery became more refined in body, form, and decoration.

And that, in a nutshell, is a condensed history of pottery.  Thanks to the internet, i was able to get this information.

Now, let me share a brief history of my personal affair with pottery.  It was in the late '70s that I became acquainted with clay pots.  Basically, I had a set of clay cookware (for kids, of course!), which my lola bought for me during a trip to Antipolo.  Whenever I would break one of my precious miniature cookware pieces, my mom would oblige to buy me a replacement at the market.  And then, during my growing up years (and even to this day) I would encounter the palayok in restaurants, as it was used for serving my favorite kare-kare.  I even used a palayok for a science project once in high school.  It was the container in which I grew my bonsai (never mind the fact that my teacher then found it ridiculous to use a palayok; for the record though, my bonsai thrived in that container so she had to give me a passing grade).

Today, I am happy to tell you that I have met a real, honest-to-goddness potter: Hadrian Mendoza.  How did I chance upon him?  Well, wish I could relate something out of the ordinary, but it really was out of need.  There I was again, looking for something interesting to write about and there he was- Hadrian.

Of Filipino descent, he was flown to the United States (to Washington, DC, to be exact), soon after his auspicious birth.  That was sometime in 1979 to 1980.  He went to school at Mary Washington College in Virginia and the Corcoran School of Art.  In 1996 to 1997, he was awarded the Anne and Arnold Abramson Award for Excellence in Ceramics.  In his own words, he "makes pots and teaches pottery."

Of course, you might ask, "What kind of job is being a potter?  Well, it is probably similar to being a painter or a sculptor.  "I made a camel the first time I touched clay," he shares of his personal love affair with pottery.  Mind you, he's been playing with play dough all of his life.  And when he turned professional, his first handiwork was, you guessed it- a palayok!

Asked what drew him to his art, he merely shrugs his shoulders.  It seems more like instinctively knowing what you want to do.  Hadrian currently divides his time between teaching pottery at the Pettyjohn-Mendoza Pottery School (Garden Square building in Greenbelt, Makati) and making his own collections for shows and exhibits.  While he sees teaching as a way to spread the word on the beauty of making pottery, he still prefers being a potter.  That is, making and creating pots as a form of artistry.

And being the true artist that he is, he stays in Makiling, where he "draws energy from the mountain."  Typical of most artists, he also has curious working hours.  "I work just before the sunsets till before sunrise," he explains.  Why?  He attributes this to his belief that he is an old soul.  Believing in destiny, he is not one to openly advertise his work.  Similarly he knows he will be "found" by fate.  (According to him, it is much like me finding him and thus he was afforded a chance to tell more people about pottery).

As a potter, he has simple needs for his art form.  Clay, wheel, glaze, kiln, and hands.  Pottery, he says, is done by the hand and that's what makes it special.  Then, of course, lots and lots of imagination.

Hadrian holds anywhere from four to six shows each year.  He has an ongoing show, entitled "Spontaneuosly Raw," at Izukan Gallery (88 Corporate Center, 141 Valero corner Sedeno Sts. Makati).

"Prolific Self-expression through clay" Malaya Living, July 9, 1998 by Rowena C. Burgos

"Seven Months in the Philippines" is Hadrian Zamora Mendoza's diary of his innermost thoughts which he profoundly expresses through clay.

The exhibit, which will open tomorrow at 6:30pm at the foyer of the Metropolitan Museum of Manila and will run until July 17, showcases 70 earthenware and stoneware vessels which draw inspiration from the environment, nature, animals and people.  The decorative objects will then be put on display until August 1 at the Met Shop.

"Most of these pieces are unintentional, meaning that their beauty lies in the unknown.  I don't know where they came from but must have come from my mind.  Upon completion of each piece, I take a step back and try to comprehend what has just happened during the creating process.  Most of them, I believe, are expressions influenced by my personal contact with people, animals or other forms of nature.  Basically, our environment here in the Philippines," said Hadrian.

Like the vase entitled "Sunset at Calatagan," which combines a rich surface of blended color and detail with a simple, curving form.  This white and Pinatubo ash glazed stoneware reminds him of Calatagan where he spends his weekends to take a respite from his work on Mondays to Fridays, that is, creating pots of varied shapes from 9am to 6pm at the residence of fellow artist Jon Pettyjohn in Pansol, Laguna.

"It's not hard on the mind but kind of tiring mentally because you do it all day," said Hadrian.

On the other hand, "Self Portrait," a Pinatubo, chun, and tenmoku-glazed stoneware, speaks of Hadrian's passion as an artist.  "It stands up straight on its toes.  Like the artwork, I am starting to make a career as an artist.  And it's really hard.  I haven't considered myself a full-time artist. But that's what I'm trying to do.  I think it comes out in my work."

"Seven Months in the Phllippines" will also display untitled works such as a porcelain vase with chun and ox-blood red glaze and a sculptured vase wit pinatubo and tenmoku glaze.

"Like a musician who doesn't think of anything while he plays, I just try to find things that relate with me.  With some pieces, I find nothing so I don't name them.  Sometimes, a title for a piece comes to my mind after a year," related Hadrian.

For Hadrian, the richness of an artwork shines through when its viewers could see something in them which they could relate to; when the piece does not only speak of the artist but more on a universal level.

"A painter-friend tells me not to worry if one understands the works or not.  I just have to find my own meaning in the piece.  And so does Jon Pettyjohn who is a big believer in making things that you like.  He often tells me to do whatever I want and not to worry about people who will play with my art."

Some viewers who saw Hadrian's show last year say that his works look "too intense."  Or that his sculptured vase depicts "a lot of anger" because of the cuts on the object.

"When clay is wet and is on the potter's wheel, it's really responsive to your hands with just the slightest movement.  It's like an instrument that when you feel good on a certain day and you're in tune with the clay, it will just come up.  You'll feel there's a lot of energy in you as soon as you create designs.  I really have a hard time explaining my works and how I see them," says Hadrian.

It was three years ago when Hadrian first dabbled in pottery in the United States where he has been residing since he was a kid.

"I was brought there not by choice but by certain incidents that occur in life.  A climate where one uses heaters during the colder seasons greatly affects the way a piece is made by breaking the natural effects of the environment upon the clay.  So this show is special to me because it is the first time that I am able to work under natural conditions and in my place of birth," related Hadrian who plans to put up his own studio next year in a less congested place in the Philippines where he can offer pottery workshops.

And since Hadrian began to learn the art and techniques of pottery, the more he became eager to know everything about his culture and to go into a deeper quest for his roots.  "I have returned to the Philippines to search for my roots and understand the true meaning of clay.  Majority of these pieces tend to look sculptural.  But by working under Jon Pettyjohn, I've found a bridge that might lead me to my roots.  So as I take a step back and try to comprehend this show, I hope that viewers will experience a fraction of the energy that I have put into these pieces."