Odangputik Team - Odangputik Pottery

Humans of Odangputik

Ianna Oda Engaño,
Founder & Lead Artist

More than a decade ago, Engaño nurtured her pottery skills through apprenticeships under the guidance of Prof. Rita Badilla-Gudiño and Genavee Lazaro, both renowned artists in Philippine contemporary ceramics.

After graduating from the College of Fine Arts of the University of the Philippines Diliman in 2018, she began her professional career as an art teacher for elementary and high school students while actively participating in restoration projects under Artemis Art Restoration Group. She assisted in the restoration of Tam Austria’s mural at the Development Bank of the Philippines. She also worked as an assistant muralist under the guidance of Ang Gerilya, a local mural art collective, working on projects such as the Alamat Ni Manda At Luyong mural along the Shaw Boulevard Flyover, the Masigasig Na Maynila Lagusnilad mural located at the Lagusnilad Underpass in Manila City, and other large-scale mural projects in Palawan and Bulacan in partnership with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Engaño turned her focus to pottery, dedicating herself to the medium above others. She founded Odangputik Art Space in 2023, now based in Quezon City, with a mission to contribute to the appreciation of Philippine art, particularly ceramics as her art medium. The name Odangputik which used to be a nickname coined by her professor and a notable film director in the Philippines, Cesar Hernando, transformed into a space where Oda ng Putik — the ode of clay — sings its thanks to people who take care of the craft. Building foundations from her undergraduate thesis, she devised the studio's Hinabi Complete Ceramic Program, offering in-depth modules to learn ceramic-making with intent, recognition of historical roots, and practical steps for beginners.

Since the studio opened its doors to the public, Engaño, through her paid pottery workshops, simultaneously launched Salinlahi — a free ceramic-making workshop for communities without access to art education and sculptural play.

Her art style gave birth to the beloved Mamaw ceramic collection, a series of odd monster-like faces on mugs and cups, anchored on Philippine mythological creatures. She speaks the language of pakikipagkapwa — allowing her to mentor over 20 fine arts students and emerging ceramic artists under the studio's Pagtanom Internship to Apprenticeship Program — and she also sees beauty in local foraging — leading her to collaborate with and imagine with local terracotta clay and experimental glazes.

In 2021, she expanded her artistic practice in the gallery scene through Tuklas Discovery Program, an art residency and mentorship initiative led by award-winning visual artist and founder of Eskinita Art Gallery — Alfredo Esquillo. From this art residency grant, she produced two solo art exhibitions between 2023 and 2024, using terracotta clay as her medium: Bahay-bahayan in 2023 and Nunology in 2024.

Art Portfolio

Lin Bajala,
Co-founder & Curator

Lin Bajala, raised in South Cotabato, is a curator and an award-winning poet with literary works in Filipino and Hiligaynon.

In 2023, she co-founded Odangputik Art Space with an empty pocket and a heart filled with courage. Rooted from her previous adventures in the finance industry and years of studying finance for graduate studies, she established a strategic financial model for the studio. By year 2024, she became a struggling student under the University of the Philippines Diliman College of Arts and Letters' Art Studies (Curatorial Studies) graduate program. While juggling her studies and the responsibility to navigate the studio towards the right direction, it was also her turning point to start weaving the threads of art and finance, through care — creating a stronger financial independence for the studio without forgetting its soul.

She prepared the framework for Pagtanom Internship to Apprenticeship Program in 2024, currently the studio's core program. She co-developed the studio's sustainable practices with Oda and authored Baso-basurahan: a ceramic recycling and upcycling project which won a cash grant from Quezon City LGU's Go Green Awards 2025. Her most recent curatorial work for the studio, Sabayang Paglikha — a peer critique and a collective exploration of local terracotta clay's magic — made its way through DTI's Design Week 2025 and received recognition from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) for its second run during the Philippines' National Arts Month 2026.

From 2025 to 2026, Bajala worked with Tandang Sora Women’s Museum and DOST Philippine Textile Research Institute for art curation in multiple exhibits and cultural events.

Her curatorial practice is a combination of interdisciplinary research, collaborative work with artists, and an endless belief in "impossible" dreams.

Bajala treats every work of art, not as a mere object, as a vessel that holds stories of life.

Curatorial Portfolio