My first visit to Mata Ortiz, early October, 2006
It was a great experience to meet the potters of Mata Ortiz. The simplicity of daily life in a small town and the magnificent desert surroundings of the town may explain the reason why they can concentrate on their works and develop a sense of balance.
The first person we visited was Ivone Olivas, a young woman mother of two little children. As you enter in their home you can feel the peaceful environment. She creates pots in elegant shapes and paints circular laze like motifs on them.
Across the street we met Claudia Sanchez whose pots seem to be covered by an embroidery, she usually uses red clay and paints the designs in cream color clay.
A couple that made a big impact on me were Salvador Baca and his wife Virginia. They very often win the prizes for miniatures. They form extremely thin little pieces and when they get dry, they carefully cut intricate designs on them and paint the piece following the cuts on the pot. They usually use an oxygen reduction firing technique to get black pieces. The result of their work is a very light and beautiful piece of ceramic done in their very dining table.
A very important family of potters are the Rodriguez. Armando is the brother of very famous potter Manolo Rodriguez. His son Abraham does white clay pieces, paints them completely with manganese (black) and then carves sceneries of nature with animals, flowers, trees. We saw his school notebook showing sketches of animals in motion because he tries to show natural sceneries of wildlife. The tools he uses for carving are sharpened bicycle spokes because they are made of strong iron that lasts longer. His brother Luis does not carve but instead paints original designs following parallel lines with fish designs in white clay.
The perennial gorgeous blue skies of Mata Ortiz are a magnificent backdrop for the miracles that are constantly taking place there.
The first person we visited was Ivone Olivas, a young woman mother of two little children. As you enter in their home you can feel the peaceful environment. She creates pots in elegant shapes and paints circular laze like motifs on them.
Across the street we met Claudia Sanchez whose pots seem to be covered by an embroidery, she usually uses red clay and paints the designs in cream color clay.
A couple that made a big impact on me were Salvador Baca and his wife Virginia. They very often win the prizes for miniatures. They form extremely thin little pieces and when they get dry, they carefully cut intricate designs on them and paint the piece following the cuts on the pot. They usually use an oxygen reduction firing technique to get black pieces. The result of their work is a very light and beautiful piece of ceramic done in their very dining table.
A very important family of potters are the Rodriguez. Armando is the brother of very famous potter Manolo Rodriguez. His son Abraham does white clay pieces, paints them completely with manganese (black) and then carves sceneries of nature with animals, flowers, trees. We saw his school notebook showing sketches of animals in motion because he tries to show natural sceneries of wildlife. The tools he uses for carving are sharpened bicycle spokes because they are made of strong iron that lasts longer. His brother Luis does not carve but instead paints original designs following parallel lines with fish designs in white clay.
The perennial gorgeous blue skies of Mata Ortiz are a magnificent backdrop for the miracles that are constantly taking place there.
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