Misak Pedersian, an 83 years old pottery maker, has contributed to preserving his profession from extinction

HASAKA, (ST)- Misak Pedersian, an 83 years old pottery maker, never thought a single day to abandon the profession he had inherited from his predecessors and taught to his children, thereby creating an excellent reputation in this field over long years and contributing to preserving this profession from extinction.

Pedersian, who is a descendant from an Armenian family that settled in Qameshli in Syria’s Hasaka after being displaced from Turkey following the Ottoman state’s massacres against the Armenians, spent 70 years in pottery making. However, he is no longer able to work now, but still able to follow up and supervise what his son Mikhail produces at the pottery workshop.

“I started to work in pottery making when I was 13. I have produced many pottery vessels and distinguished ceramic artworks over the past 70 years,” the artisan said, pointing out that his profession needs special skills and great efforts, including searching for the clay necessary for making pottery.

“We used to obtain the clay from areas near the Syrian-Turkish borders, but when the terrorist war on Syria began and Turkey supported the terrorists, we started to find difficulties in approaching the borders fearing sniping and killing by mercenaries of the Turkish occupation,” he added.

His son Mikhael, nicknamed Anto, explained to SANA how he makes pottery step by step with the help of his brothers, Khajik and Yervan, and how much patience and skill this profession needs to produce different forms of pottery works.

He indicated that although there is little demand for pottery artifacts in the current period, his love for this profession and the pleasure he feels while working in pottery making have prevented him from abandoning it and choosing another profession. 

Hamda Mustafa