Mata Ortiz Hand built and Burnished Low Fire Pottery

Mata Ortiz Hand built and Burnished Low Fire Pottery

by Hilario Quezada Jr.

Ceramics

Ht. 7″ x W. 6″ x D. 6″

Ceramics from the village of Mata Ortiz in Chihuahua are a “miracle” story. The village was extremely poor, located near the site of an ancient Paquimé Indian ruin called Casas Grandes. A teenager, Juan Quezada, found ancient potshards and a source of clay and taught himself to make and decorate pots. When anthropologist Spencer MacCallum happened upon some of Quezada’s works, he began to promote the work. Quezada taught others in the village and now, more than 200 families create spectacular pots, staying within the tradition but with imaginative innovations. The miracle is that so many people in one village all have such extraordinary talent.