For over 800 years, hand-thrown pottery has been an artistic tradition handed down from generation to generation originating from the indigenous Chorotega Indians.  In the town of Guaitil, located on the Nicoya Peninsula, Arbin Espinosa Guevara was handed down this tradition from his own mother at the age of 10 and since then, has been practicing this folkloric craft of pottery making.

   Here in Tamarindo, Arbin displays and sells his pottery at his gallery/workshop Guaitil Pottery Studio, where as he explains, opened up his shop “so that our visitors could have the opportunity to see pre-Columbian pottery and to learn how it has been made for the last 800 years.  The Chorotega Indians is a part my Costa Rican history and this art represents their culture.”

   Guevara and his artists hand form the pottery pieces without any electrical wheels or tools as the Indians had done themselves.  The clay mud comes from San Vicente, a town next to Guatil, and has historically been found in the mountains.  Different colors of sand are grounded to clay with a mortar and pestle and then used as paint on the pottery before it is fired.  The artistic designs are created to replicate pre-Columbian designs that have their own symbolic meanings.

   Guaitil studio is part gallery and part workshop, and on any given day (except when the waves are good), you can find Arbin in the workshop creating new pieces.  Recently, he has added pottery classes for anyone who wants to learn how to make pottery pieces of their choice.  “The best way for people to learn about this art is through making it with their own hands.  They need to feel the clay in their hands in order to understand the art” says Arbin.

   Once you have picked out the specific piece you would like to make, Arbin will teach you how to form the piece and prepare it for painting.  He then fires it in the oven and then it is ready once its cooled. For more information about the pottery classes, you can either stop by the gallery, which is located in the Tamarindo Circle next to La Caracola Restaurant or call Arbin at (506) 2653-2005.