Handmade Ceramic Elephant Oil Warmer from Thailand - Sand Elephant

Artisan Organization: Charoensri

Country: Mexico

I'm Charoensri Chotayanon and I was born in Northern Thailand. Before I became involved with porcelain ceramics, I worked at a hotel for about 20 years while my husband was a building contractor. He had a friend who ran a ceramics factory, which I visited on several occasions and I observed each step in the process, from making molds, casting, decorating and glazing. All required a lot of skill. I found it exciting to watch the artisans and talk to them about their work.

Seeing my interest, our friend persuaded me to work from home, as he could use more help. My husband agreed, and I said yes.

"Immediately, I began learning from skilled artisans. They taught me to how to select and work with clay, to prepare the glaze and to select the firing temperature. Finally, I was ready to complete a piece and launched a workshop with 30 artisans to work with me. Unfortunately, an economic crisis hit us hard and we had to downside.I decided to offer our skills to another factory as well.

"Then I began designing our ceramics. I'm still developing my work and continue learning about this art form.

"During the dry season, the people who live in the mountains come down and help me. I hope you like our work.""