Traditional Pejaten ceramics gain popularity

Traditional Pejaten ceramics gain popularity

By Wahyuni Kamah

TABANAN, Bali (JP): Pejaten, a small village only 15
kilometers northwest of Denpasar, has long been known as the hub
of Bali's terracotta industry.

Its decorative and roof tiles as well as its earthenware have
been exported to places like Japan, the United States and Europe.
This small village is situated in Tabanan regency, which is
dubbed Bali's "rice barn."

To visit this village, it is best to drive west from Denpasar,
passing through Kerobokan. If you are lucky enough to go during
harvest time, you will be able to see the swaying rice crops in
the paddy fields, in hues ranging from green to yellow, along the
asphalted road to the village.

Approaching Pejaten village, the road is stone paved. It is no
wonder that people say that 90 percent of Pejaten villagers are
terracotta craftsmen. Most homes in this traditional village
house a small tile-making workshop, although they are not as
crowded as the silver and gold home industries in Celuk, Ubud,
where every house runs a craft business.

Some parts of this village, where about 4,000 people live, are
untouched by modern technology, as seen in the lack of telephone
connections. Don't be surprised too if you happen to see topless
middle-aged women wandering in and around their houses.

In the hinterland villages, it is customary to see them wear
only a sarong while their torso remains unclothed. However, upon
seeing guests, the women often become modest and will quickly put
a blouse on.

The excellent quality of Pejaten red clay has turned this
village into the center of the terracotta industry. The growth of
the Pejaten terracotta industry resulted in the over-mining of
red clay. Therefore, in the 1980s, as the red clay was getting
scarce, some Pejaten villagers began to seek alternatives for
their home industry.

Ngurah Gusti Suryasa is one of these innovators and he and
some of his local friends pioneered a small-scale ceramic home
industry in 1987. "I knew nothing about ceramics but was familiar
with terracotta," said Ngurah, 35 years old. He stated that the
initial establishment of his business was partly financed by
Sucofindo.

The dim showroom that is only 10 meters away from the factory
is simply decorated. The collections, ranging from incense stick
holders to flower vases, are arranged plainly in glass racks on
the wall, while a number of vases and boxes filled with ceramic
plates are scattered on the floor. The showroom is a bit messy.

"We mainly accept big orders and our products are sold as
consigned goods in some shops in Kuta and displayed there,"
Ngurah explained. "Moreover, our location is not that accessible
though some tourists do visit this showroom," he added.

His ceramic wares bear natural colors. Green, which is the
dominant color, has now become the trademark of Pejaten ceramics.
The color was found by trial and error in the glazing process.
Other colors include light blue, ivory and shades of green-gray.

The designs have animal shapes like fish, lizards, frogs and
turtles that climb out of sugar bowls, lids of teapots and
perfume jars. They rest on soap dishes, ashtrays, cups, clay
glass covers, napkin holders, candle holders and vases. The
showroom, however, does not display the complete collection.
Ngurah, having no formal education in the ceramic industry, said
that other designs and models are made upon request.

"Frankly speaking, I have learned by doing," explained this
graduate of Tabanan high school with a major in the Social
Sciences. He learned about ceramics in training classes in
Malang, East Java and Bandung, West Java, but stressed that trial
and error was the most effective method to acquire the best
technique.

Now Ngurah has 80 workers and most of them are women. His
factory produces around 5000 ceramic pieces per month. However,
production output is affected by the number of religious events
and duties which may arise in any given month. "My workers take
days off when there is a religious ceremony so we cannot produce
any pieces during that period."

At lunch time, the factory is deserted as the workers and
potters who live nearby go home for their lunch. Close to 1 p.m.
some workers slowly return to the workshop to continue
production.

Ngurah divides his workers into seven groups that are assigned
to take orders. "It is easier for me to control them that way,"
he said.

The traditional factory is arranged according to the orders
received. I visited a group that consists of about 20 workers. In
the first line, a woman weighed ceramic clay according to the
size and shapes of the piece to be produced. Two women then
busily blended the ceramic batter, which is made of white clay
(imported from Malang, East Java) and water. Ngurah said that he
used at least six tons of white clay for production each month.
"We don't have such good quality white clay in Bali," he added.

The work order uses a running wheel system. Women potters
shape the well-blended clay into various shapes and sizes. Their
strong feet energetically rotate the potter's wheel while their
hands and fingers painstakingly shape the ceramic wares into
vases, plates, cups and other objects. They chat freely with
their neighbors while working. The finished wares are put in
wooden racks to await the next phase of production.

Contrary to what is generally assumed, the decorating is done
mainly by men instead of women. Three men work to decorate the
pieces. One of them cleverly decorates a vase by drawing plant
leaves using a sharp pin, while another shapes small frog-like
figures to be put on ashtrays. "We make all decorations by hand,"
says Putu, a young man who artfully draws plant leaves on a
rounded vase.

The tosca green look of Pejaten ceramic is obtained from the
composition of glazing material and a firing technique that has
been learned through experimentation. According to Ngurah, who
makes his own composition for glazing, the result of the glaze is
known only after the wares have been fired.

The composition of the glaze is adjusted according to the
firing temperature. A glossy look is obtained by setting the
temperature to 1,200 degrees Celsius, while a matte finish is
obtained by setting it to 1,300 degrees. The positioning of the
wares in the kiln also influences the final appearance.
"Therefore, it is completely impossible to make wares that are
all identical," Ngurah explained. To obtain a green color he uses
copper in the glazing composition while the blue color is
obtained by adding cobalt.

There are only three simple cube-shaped kilns at the factory.
By the oven, bare breasted women place the vases inside to be
finished. Because of the small size of his oven, Ngurah said that
he was unable to meet an order for a large plate from a luxury
hotel in Ubud.

As the first ceramic home industry in Pejaten, the Keramik
Pejaten, is still run traditionally. The factory was also a
'school' for students of ceramics. A Japanese student once
traveled to Indonesia to study at the factory along with many
Indonesian students from across the country.

The rising price of utilities such as oil has affected
Ngurah's business. He said that the most important thing for him
and his workers there is the fulfillment of orders every month to
run their factory. His ceramic wares have been exported to the
States, Japan and France. Some hotels in Bali also order his
green ceramics to decorate their hotels.