Rudolfs Ate wins pottery throwing contest in Ventspils

Rudolfs Ate of Rucava won a pottery throwing contest held at the Ventspils Seaside Open-Air Museum, LSM reported. Six potters from Kurzeme, Vidzeme and Lithuania competed to make the tallest vessel, widest bowl and most accurate copy of a historical clay object within a limited time.

For the first task, each participant was given four kilograms of clay from Spain and had to make the tallest possible cylinder. The clay was weighed precisely, and the potters drew lots to determine which wheels they would use. Each millimetre of height counted as one point.

Ate made the tallest cylinder, measuring 380 millimetres. He has only recently joined the ceramics community and graduated from school this year.

“The main thing is not to rush, and it is very important to keep your hand steady, because no sudden movements work here. Once you learn it and are in harmony with yourself, everything works out,” Ate said.

The second task was to make the widest bowl. It was won by ceramicist Guna Rubeža from Rudbārži Parish, whose experience spans four decades. Her bowl measured 500 millimetres across.

“The first thing is the excitement. Then you want an even bigger bowl and an even bigger one. But you have to know when to stop. Otherwise, you end up with nothing. It collapses,” Rubeža said.

For the third task, the contestants had to recreate a historical object that they saw only shortly before beginning. It was a clay jug from the Aploku homestead in Miķeļtornis, which has been kept at the museum since 1974.

Ate achieved the best overall result among the six participants.

Lithuanian contestant Violeta Beržinskienė, a ceramics teacher in Kaunas, took part in such a competition for the first time.

“My students sent me the information and said: you absolutely have to go there, show how people work in Lithuania and learn how others work. So I got in the car and drove here,” the ceramicist said.

The pottery throwing competition at the Ventspils Seaside Open-Air Museum was held as part of Potters’ Days.