Meet the potter
¡Hola!
My name is Gustavo and I'm based in sunny San Diego, California. I am an amateur potter and ceramicist. I began crafting with clay three years ago, learning hand-building and wheel-thrown practices at a local community college. I now make most of my pottery in my home studio (aka the garage).
I have been living in San Diego for almost a decade. By day, I work with community organizers and grassroot advocates to change California policy.
I turn to ceramics as a practice to ground and center myself. Everything is made with intention, and it is all an experiment to channel a creative outlet into functional art.
About Surco
Surco is the name I chose for my pottery craft.
In Spanish, a 'surco' is a groove or row made into a field for planting. Traditionally made by oxen with yolks, fields are now prepared for crops with tractors. The name Surco is a link to my upbringing in rural Mexico where we still till the land for corn and agave. I am originally from Arandas, Jalisco.
My intention is that my pottery reflects these roots. I grew up seeing natural red clay in the highlands of Jalisco, amongst agave and cactus. The act of creating pottery is thus similar to farming -- it is taking dirt into function through labor and focus.
My pottery often reflects my homelands: nopales and cactus, traditional Mexican designs and ceramic forms used for thousands of years in these regions. De mi rancho a tu casa.
About the work
Most of pottery is wheel-thrown and hopefully functional. I work in small batches in my home studio (aka the garage). I also work, fire and learn at my favorite community studio (Ceramic Heights). I continue to learn and experiment with pottery with every piece. There's much to learn and to explore.
I primarily use stoneware clay bodies and fire in an electric kiln. All my work is food-safe and can be washed in the dish washer and be used in the microwave (though hand-washing a piece will ensure it lives a longer life).
