On our first Walking Connection trip to Peru in 2000, our guide Fernando took us to a special place. It was an artisans’ pottery workshop in the peaceful countryside of the Sacred Valley of the Incas. When I stepped up through the massive doors into the courtyard I had a sense that I had passed into another world. There was a current of energy yet the warmth of being home. It was a quick stop, time was getting late, but time enough to buy a few beautiful ceramics.
Ten years later we were planning a return trip to Peru. We had lost touch with our guide Fernando….contacts can disappear over time. How was I going to find him? I was searching, trying to figure it out when one day I walked into my kitchen and looked at one of the beautiful ceramics hanging on my wall. I picked it up, turned it over and and saw the word Seminario inscribed. Googled it. Found a web site. Sent off an e-mail. “Does anyone know Fernando Baca?” A Marilú responded immediately and said they would try to locate our friend. Within 3 days Fernando was e-mailing me back!
When we returned in 2010 I wanted to make sure to stop again, partly to thank this Marilú in person and partly to share this special place. I felt drawn to it. Again it had been a long day, we were all getting road weary. I insisted we stop and assured everyone that it would be worth it. I stepped up and walked through those doors again and was warmly greeted by Marilú as if we were old friends. Our small group was guided through Ceramicas Seminario which come to find out is the house come workshop of Pablo Seminario and wife Marilú Behar. Their artistic passions intertwined into one renowned global vision and as they simply describe:
“Seminario’s Art A message from the Past Two hearts, four hands and a single dream: To rescue pre-Inca Art”
That day I was taken aside and asked if I would like to meet Pablo in his workshop. Si! Of course! I was honored. I shook his hand and told him how I had visited 10 years before. He asked me how my recent trip to New York was. Turns out he had been reading the Walking Connection e-mails! Very cool. Then he invited our group into his studio. A definite highlight of our trip.
Gene, me and Pablo Seminario
The Seminarios have shared their intensely creative spirit by making this special place not only theirs but a dynamic center for learning that inspires the mostly local artisans. When you step up and into the courtyard you too become part of the artistic expression. I am going back this July and would like to share this special place with YOU! Come Walk With Me!
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