Mata Ortiz Pottery is made with the ancestral techniques used by the Paquimé culture. These techniques were recently rescued by master Juan Quezada Celado. Though the designs are traditional, they have been reinterpreted. The patterns are drawn per hand on the vases with mineral and lead-free paints using brushes made with child hair. Don’t worry, there is no child exploitation here.

These pieces are elaborated completely by hand in a period of approximately one month. For their firing, poplar tree cortex and dry cow dung are used to achieve the appropriate temperature as well as to preserve the rustic burning style that characterises the craft.

Juan Mata Ortiz is a small town three hundred and twenty kilometers northwest of the city of Chihuahua, in Mexico. Around 300 families dedicated to pottery create the most extraordinary vases.