Many first-time visitors to Dumaguete have been heard to admire the city’s beauty and express a desire to stay longer.{{more}}
Takeshi Maruyama, from the Yamaguchi Prefecture in northern Japan, is no exception. He had been coming to the Philippines every year for the last 16 years but all it took for this potter from Japan was just one visit to Dumaguete in 2008 to guest in a terracotta convention and he was captivated by Dumaguete’s charm.
“I liked Dumaguete so much that I decided I want to do something here,” Maruyama said.
Maruyama’s opportunity came when he was invited by Foundation University to teach the pottery class, which he immediately accepted.
“Pottery skills are not popular in the Philippines, especially the glazed or high-fire pottery,” he said, adding that he was impressed with FU’s gas kiln, which was set up by the Department of Science and Technology. “FU has almost all facilities which are in very good condition,” he said.
For the month of June, Maruyama’s class had been learning how to form various shapes out of clay, the same lessons he learned at the age of 29 — a good 34 years ago. He meets his 25 students twice a week, from 1 to 5 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Maruyama, who had held a two-month one-man exhibit at the GSIS Museum in Manila in 2002, is also a poet. He will leave for India in October to attend a poetry convention and come back to resume his teaching tasks at Foundation University.
(photos by Alma Alcoran)
IMG “ALIGN=LEFT” BORDER=”0″ SRC=”https://dumaguetemetropost.com/Pottery5.JPG”>
- Advertisement -