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What's Going On In The World of Mata Ortiz Pottery?
10:15 AM PST, 3/24/2008
Echoes of Nature: Ocean Waves by Various Artists
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Here are a few dates and corresponding events. Get out your calendar and start making plans!
May 17, 2008 is the date of the twelfth annual "Concurso de Ceramico de Mata Ortiz". This is a pottery competition held in Mata Ortiz by FONART, a federal agency, along with it's state of Chihuahua counterpart, Casa de las Artesanias.
Judging takes place the day before (a Friday), and prizes awarded on Saturday morning, May 17. The entries can be viewed as they are being removed from the old train station immediately after the award ceremonies on Saturday. All entries must be removed by Sunday 5 pm.
This event is designed to promote production in the village for
sales to FONART and Casa de las Artesanias for their craft outlets,
and not necessarily to attract visitors and collectors. However,
many serious collectors have purchased favorite pieces in connection with this annual event.
For excellent information on travel to Mata Ortiz, and more events
with corresponding dates, visit http://www.mataortizcalendar.com/
This site is provided by Spencer MacCallum, the American
anthropologist and art historian who discovered Juan Quezada, and
has been very important in the history of the Mata Ortiz pottery
art movement.
A Laura Bugarini demonstration and sale will take place in Pomona,
California May 31 - June 1. The American Museum of Ceramic Arts
(340 South Gary Ave, Pamona, CA contact David Armstrong 909-865-3146) invites the public to this pottery weekend. www.ceramicmuseum.org
Laura will be accompanied by her mother Guadalupe Cota Gallegos, a veteran Mata Ortiz potter, who will also participate in the
demonstration.
Saturday May 31, there will be a day long reception to meet the
artists, view the new video, "The Mata Ortiz Pottery Phenomenon",
and purchase pottery by leading Mata Ortiz artists.
Sunday June 1, will be a day-long demonstration by both artists,
and includes forming a pot, intricate painting with brushes made of
human hair, surface preparation and burnishing. The culmination will
be an open air firing in dried cow chips or split wood.
Finally, June 30 - July 5 The Idyllwild Arts summer program
(www.idyllwildarts.org/summer/summer.html) is providing a week-long workshop taught by master potters Nicolas Quezada (brother of Juan Quezada), and son Jose Quezada. The workshop covers the Mata Ortiz approach to clay prep, hand building an olla, surface prep, painting, and both oxidation and oxygen reduction methods of firing (for polychrome and black ware respectively).
Walter Parks, author of "The Miracle of Mata Ortiz" will give a
presentation on the history of Mata Ortiz pottery. Enrollment for
the workshop will be limited to 15. Tuition is $645. Contact the
summer registrar at 951-659-2171, X2365. -
Ancient Influence in Mata Ortiz
11:51 AM PST, 3/17/2008
The Paquimé traded in an expansive region that included the jungles of Mesoamerica, and to the north, the Mimbres Valley in southwestern New Mexico, and even the U.S. central plains where Bison roamed. The word for ruins, archeological site, or burial grounds in colloquial Spanish is moctezuma. Did you know that the village of Mata Ortiz was literally built on a sprawling network of Pre-Columbian moctezumas? From these sites local residents have pulled out a treasure trove of grinding stones, bones, tools, and pottery. (The practice is now a definite no no). Most of the ancient pottery found in Mata Ortiz more closely resembles Mimbres pottery (mostly bowls). Mimbres pottery generally had thicker lines, and often a single animal graphic with lines and geometric designs emanating out from the animal. The Mimbres culture habitually buried their dead with pottery over the face. Holes were cut from the bottom of bowls "so the dead could breathe" reports local Mata Ortiz artists. Archaeologists often find the holes cut from the bowls near the body, suggesting that the practice was part of the burial ceremony. Evidence also suggests that often, the pottery used in the burial ceremony was not new, perhaps indicating that the piece was a well used favorite of the deceased. Ancient Casas Grandes or Paquimé (a few miles away from Mata Ortiz) pottery frequently incorporated fine sweeping lines that now are often called "Quezada style lines". Juan and his followers have unquestionably been inspired by the ancient art.