Yary Livan: Keeping Cambodian Ceramic Traditions Alive

Yary will discuss his personal story as one of the last surviving traditional Cambodian potters. Participants will learn the history of Cambodian ceramics and will have the opportunity to create a specific type of Cambodian elephant pot using either wheel or hand-building techniques.

Saturday and Sunday, June 15 and 16; 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
This is a two-day clay workshop.
Cost: $250.00 – $295.00

In this workshop, participants will learn the techniques for creating, and have the opportunity to create, a specific type of Cambodian elephant pot, using either wheel or hand-building techniques. The instructor, Yary Livan, is one of two practicing master potters who survived the Khmer Rouge. He lives and works in Lowell, MA.

Day one:
Introductions/ getting to know each other
Presentation on Yary’s history, and traditions of Cambodian pottery
Demonstration:  wheel thrown components of elephant pot body
Demonstration:  how to make the elephant parts ( head, legs…)
Hand building the elephant body

Day two:
Participants start to build their own elephant pot using techniques introduced on Day 1 of the
workshop.
Participants will learn how to use Khmer Traditional Ornaments to decorate the elephant pot.

Each day will have a one-hour break for lunch and students should bring a bag lunch.