Mata Ortiz Pottery
Mata Ortiz has become one of the most famous villages known by fine pottery collectors. Juan Quezada first taught himself how to recreate the beautiful old Casas Grandes style pots from shards he found scattered in the desert around his home in northern Mexico, and then taught his family the art. His pots were first discovered in the 1970's in Deming, New Mexico. At this time, there are approximately 300 fine potters in the village, and this pottery is considered among the finest hand-coiled pottery in the world. |  | |
Maribel Lopez comes from a very talented family of potters from the Mata Ortiz village, in Mexico. Her father creates scenes of the forest, her sister etches fine lined geometric pots and Maribel paints beautiful, birds, butterflies and insects. Her attention to detail and color palette are amazingly sophisticated. This is a new generation of creativity coming from the village that is so well known for their fine handcrafted pottery.
Mata Ortiz potter Leonel Lopez has created a unique surface treatment on his pot by etching the design into the color layer. The pattern resembles feathers and is polished to fine finish. The pot is 6 by 6 inches round.
Manuel Rodriquez Guillen of the village Mata Ortiz Mexico has created a design on this pot that you can get lost in. Almost Escher like, follow the design around and around. The tail of a stylized skunk and lizards circle the pot and becomes part of the geometric lines. Standing 11 inches tall and 8 inches round, this pot is delightful.
Shown is another fabulous pot by Mata Ortiz potter Alonso Ramirez. His technical skill is quite evident in the intricate design work and the raised swirl design that is visible on the interior and exterior of the piece. The pot is polished black and then surface designed with terra cotta, green, yellow and beige slip. Alonso has a fine palette for color and knows how to handle his clay.
