Potters of Mata Ortiz
The following biographies have been taken from two wonderful books about the potters of Mata Ortiz. One was written in 1993 by Walter P. Parks and is entitled, The Miracle of Mata Ortiz: Juan Quezada and the Potters of Northern Chihuahua. The second was written by Lowell, Hills, Quintana, Parks, and Wisner in 1999 and called, The Many Faces of Mata Ortiz.
Roberto Banuelos
Roberto Banuelos Guerraro openly acknowledges his respect
and debt to Juan Quezada. However, he has had little direct contact with Juan,
learning his craft instead from two of his wife's sisters, Gloria Isela Lopez and Rosa
Lopez de Cota, sister-in-law of Reynalda Quezada. Before he started working with
clay he usually worked in orchards. Roberto makes a variety of pot shapes and uses
different designs. At first he was most noted for his Mimbres-style designs on
pieces. His best work now is polychrome with his own designs. His work was
included in the exhibition at the University of New Mexico Art Museum in the spring of
1995.
Cesar and
Gaby Dominguez
Cesar Dominguez Alvarado and his wife, Gabriela Almeida de
Dominguez work together. Gaby builds and polishes, while Cesar sands, paints, and
fires. They learned their craft from Cesar's brother Jaime Dominguez. Their
work was included in the University of New Mexico Art Museum's show in 1995.
Arturo Ledezma
Arturo Ledezma Veloz began making small figures and animals
in about 1990, following his friend Manuel Rodriquez's early style. His work has
evolved into nicely-formed ollas, often with intricate checkerboard pattern. Arturo
in turn has influenced his four brothers and other members of the Veloz branch of the
extended Ledezma family.
Efren Ledezma
Efren Ledezma Veloz, a brother of Arturo Ledezma, often
paints designs consisting of small parallel bands with alternating geometric designs.
Lourdes Lopez
Lourdes Lopez de Corona used to live in Barrio Adobe (also
known as Barrio Lopez). In 1997, she married Armando Corona and moved to Barrio
Americano near potter Ana Trillo de Corona. Lourdes makes good-quality, red or
white-clay pottery.
Jose Loya
Jose is a brother of Rosa Loya. He makes well-painted
white pieces with intricate designs somewhat reminiscent of Noe Quezada's work. Jose
learned from watching Juan and other members of the Quezada family.
Rosa Loya
Rosa Loya de Ledezma makes medium-sized polychrome pieces,
often with checkerboard design. She lives with her husband Santo Ledezma in Barrio
Americano, the neighborhood in the northwest corner of the main village, where so many of
the good potters of the Gallegos, Rodriguez, and Martinez families live.
Efrain
Lucero Sr. and Efran Lucero Jr.
Efrain Lucero Juarez has been potting for over 10 years.
He was taught by his brother-in-law, Juan Andrew. His highly polished, black
graphite pots show the influence of two other teachers, Macario Ortiz and Ruben Lozano.
He is assisted by his wife and children.
Efrain Lucero Jr. tends to form pots with wider mouths and
paints in a more delicate style.
Ruben Lozano
Lucero
Ruben moved to Mata Ortiz in his early teens. He was
one of the first potters to take up the craft. He was greatly influenced by the work
of Macario Ortiz. He produces perfectly formed, thin, black balloons of graphic
clay, highly polished, but with no painting. He has won numerous national awards for
his pottery.
Pilo Mora
Porfirio "Pilo" Mora Vallalba lived in Barrio
Porvenir before moving to Nuevo Casas Grandes. Although his teacher was Ermeterio
Ortiz from Provenir, his fine-line painting style shows much more Quezada influence.
He was one of the best of the new group of artists that appeared in the late
1980's, and his work was sought after by traders. His eyesight has deteriorated
somewhat, and while he still paints, he also forms pots for others to paint. Pilo
uses a wax (grasa) to enhance the luster of his pot surfaces; a technique not generally
used by artists of his stature. His work appeared in the prestigious exhibition at
the University of New Mexico Art Museum in the spring of 1995.
Hector Ortega
Hector Ortega makes pots which combine design elements
similar to those developed by his brother-in-law, Chevo Ortiz, and Chevo's brother
Nicolas. From Chevo he learned to make pots with swirls, and from Nicolas he learned
to sculpt animals.
Macario Ortiz
Macario Ortiz Estrada is one of the best known of Los
Hermanos Ortiz (The Ortiz Brothers band), in which he was lead singer.
Around 1982, Macario and Ruben Lozano discovered a bright shiny black mark on a pot
after firing, the result of a pencil mark (graphite) left on the pot. This was the
initial discovery of the graphite additive that would revolutionize the making of
blackware without firing by the traditional, oxygen-reduction technique. This is now
the most common process for making blackware in Mata Ortiz. Blackware made with
graphite is easier to fire, more sensitive to fingerprints, more tolerant of course
polishing, and more susceptible to surface damage than blackware made by reduction firing.
They were also the first to experiment with the bright colors of green, blue, red,
and white painted over black graphite. But, buyers were not ready for this style.
Eli Navarrette revived the process in 1997. Macario's work was shown in the
1995 University of New Mexico Art Museum Exhibition.
Paty Ortiz
Paty learned potting from her father, Salvador Ortiz.
She and her husband, Cruz Santillan, work together to create pots of mixed clay.
Paty signs the pots.
Damian Quezada
Damian Escarsega Quezada is Genoveva's son and Juan's
nephew. He did not grow up in Mata Ortiz, and in 1992 he moved to Nuevo Casas
Grandes and began making pots under the tutelage of cousin Oscar and Uncle Nicolas
Quezada. He is a natural painter and in less than a year was producing outstanding
polychrome ollas in the classic Quezada style. Damian's wife, Elvira Antillon, often
makes the pieces he paints.
Dora Quezada
Dora Quezada de Valenzuela is Consolacion Quezada's
daughter. She began helping her mother sand and polish pots at age 12. After
marrying, she moved to La Junta, about a six-hour train ride south. A friendly
railroad custodian enabled her to send her pots by train to her mother to sell. She
has since returned to Mata Ortiz.
Genoveva Quezada
Genoveva Quezada de Escarsega, Juan's third sister after
Consolacion and Reynalda, has lived for years in a town several miles south of Mata Ortiz
called Barras Barbicora. She began potting about 1990 and makes black ollas similar
in style to Reynalda and other Quezada family members.
Hilario Quezada
Hilario "Lalo" Corona Quezada, is Connsolacion's
third son. As a teen he preferred working in the fields. Before turning to
potting he tried crossing the border twice, only to be returned by immigration
authorities. He turned to potting after the age of twenty. His work has
become popular with traders and tourists.
Juan Quezada
Juan Quezada is the acknowledged master and originator of
the ceramic industry in Mata Ortiz.
Nicolas Quezada
Nicolas Quezada Celado is Juan's brother and one of the
major figures among the Mata Ortiz potters. Many of his pieces are of museum
quality, particularly his large extremely-thin white bowls painted in black and red.
Nicholas has exhibited and taught in the U.S. and his pots are in museum
collections. His work was included in the University of New Mexico Fine Arts
exhibition in the spring of 1995.
Oscar Quezada
Oscar Gonzales Quezada is Consolacion's oldest son be her
first husband. After Oscar finished scholl at 14, he started working in the
orchards. This was not long before his mother began potting. She soon was
teaching him, and he sold his first pot that year. However, he went back to work in
the orchards and made pots on a part-time basis. He married his wife, Concha, and
moved to other areas looking for conventional jobs. Finally he returned to Mata
Ortiz and began to work as a full-time potter. He does both polychrome and black
pieces of good quality. Concha helps him, particularly with the polishing. The
couple moved to Nuevo Casas Grandes in the late eighties so that their sons could receive
a better education. This has made it harder to make pots, but the effort paid off in
1994 when Octavio, their eldest son, completed high school and was eligible
for the university.
Reynalda Quezada
Very early, Juan's sister Reynalda began turning her pots
into fat turtles, bats, and other creatures by adding heads, legs, and tails to the basic
pot. In other versions lizards and snakes were worked into the top of the pot.
These whimsical pieces were very successful and her daughters Yolanda and Olivia,
her son Samuel, and several others followed Reynalda's style. Reynalda made nice
polychrome pieces, but now she concentrates mostly on her popular blackware.
Reynaldo Quezada
Reynaldo Quezada Celado is one of the most innovative
potters in the village. He is Juan's youngest brother and learned to pot over 20
years ago. He is credited with the mixing of clays called mezclado that gives a
marbleized appearance. He also introduced the use of textured indentations in the
damp clay that produce a braided look. He has also spent a great deal of time in the
United States teaching and demonstrating potting techniques.
Yolanda Quezada
Yolanda Lopez de Talavara (her married name) is Reynalda
Quezada's daughter. She has been making and selling pots in Reynalda's style for
several years. Her work is sold in galleries throughout the southwest.
Eduardo Quintana
Eduardo is the brother of Jorge Quintana. Many of his
pots feature calcado or carved surfaces. His primary occupation has been as a
carpenter specializing in carved doors and furniture. Thanks to his brother's
influence, he now also makes pottery.
Jorge Quintana
Jorge learned to pot from the well-known Pilo Mora, and
makes polychrome pottery often with checkerboard patterns and Mimbres animal designs.
He has demonstrated pottery making in the US several times, including at the
exhibition of Mata Ortiz pottery at the Southwest Museum in Los Angeles in July, 1997.
Cruz Renteria
Cruz is from a large family of farmers. He is married
to Blanca Quezada (not related to Juan's family). He makes among other things
finely-painted polychrome plates.
Socorro Sandoval
Socorro Sandoval de Silveira is known for her large
pots. Her pottery is similar to her husband, Jose Silveira Ortiz, and their daughter
Trini Silveira Sandoval but is distinguished by larger and more complicated designs.
Socorro learned potting from her sister-in-law, Gloria Hernandez, about 15 years
ago.
Arminda Silveira
Arminda Silveira Sandoval de Olivas, daughter of Nicolas
Silveira, does large well-painted pots in the general style of her families.
Anna Trillo
Anna Trillo de Corona lives behind the school. She is
not from a family of potters, but she has been making well-made polychrome, red-clay, and
black pieces since the late 1980s. Often her pots are formed into a double necked or
"wedding jar" shape. She learned from Elvira Antillon, the wife of Damian
Quezada. Her husband, Monico Corona, the uncle of Mauro and Hilario Quezada, sands
and polishes Ana's work.
Sabino Villalba
Sabino "Cabi" Villalba Hernandez is the oldest of
the six children of Andres Villalba and Bacilia Hernandez de Villalba. He and
his wife, Veronica Silveira de Villalba, work together. She does the sanding and
polishing while he does the painting and firing. He has been potting for over 15
years and is responsible for teaching his now well-known father the art.
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