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Index
Page 1
Apple Bakers
Baking Dish
Batter
Bowls
Berry Bowls
Bread Bakers
Canister Set
Covered Casseroles
Coffee Mugs
Cheese Dish
Dipping Bowls
French Butter Keeper
Honey Pots
Pasta Bowls
Pitchers
Page 2
Pie Plates
Platters
Serving Bowls
Soup Mugs
Rice or Noodle Bowls
Salad Mixing Bowls
Soap or Lotion Pumps
Silverware Drainers
Utensil Holders
Wine Goblets, Carafe
Page 3
Chip & Dip, Salsa
Cooler
Products
Page 4
Mata Ortiz Pottery Gallery
Mata Ortiz Pottery
Gallery...
Young Potters of the Village
Mata Ortiz Information
Page 5
Tea Pot Collection
Page 6
Pottery Seconds
Page 7
Ikebana Vases and Bowls
Page 8
One of a kind Pottery
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Mata Ortiz, Paquimé and Casas
Grandes Pottery
Information
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A Small Part of the
Paquimé Pueblo Ruins |
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Pottery was first produced over 800 years ago in an area of Northern
Mexico called Casas Grandes or Paquimé. At first the pots were crude
but evolved through trade with other cultures. The Paquimé culture
peaked sometime in the 13th or 14th century and then disappeared for
reasons that remain unknown.
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In 1976,
Anthropologist Spencer MacCallum discovered three intriguing
handmade ceramic pots in a secondhand store in New Mexico. While
they resembled ancient pots of the region, they were actually new.
After much investigation, Spencer discovered the pots, or "ollas",
had been made in the small Mexican village of Mata Ortiz, in the
mountains of the state of Chihuahua, by Juan Quezada. Juan had
recreated the ancient pottery making techniques of the Paquimé
Indians with only shards of the excavated pottery to go by.
Spencer's discovery and subsequent meeting with Juan Quezada set off
a chain of events, often referred to as "The Miracle of Mata Ortiz."
Not only has Juan continued to produce and market pots of high
quality, he has taught others in the village to do the same. |
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Juan Quezada |
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Ron Martino
Juan Quezada |
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Spencer
MacCallum |
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Two potters
from two cultures. |
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In Casas Grandes 2008. |
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Nearly 400 of the
2,000 inhabitants of Mata Ortiz are now producing pottery, slowly
transforming the community from one of impoverishment to one of
economic stability. Every stage of production of the pottery is done
completely by hand, and each one-of-a-kind piece is purchased
directly from the potter. Raw clay and pigment for the pots and
paints are collected from the rich deposits found in surrounding
hills and valleys. The potter's hand's form the pots, the hair of
children is used to make the paint brushes, and the firing is done
in the back yard with wood and cow dung as the fuel.
Over the years, experimentation, refinement, and creativity have
taken place at all stages of production. Consequently, the potters
are more skilled and innovative than ever, earning Mata Ortiz the
reputation of a major pottery-producing center, and the status of one of the
most skillful of it's kind. |

Elda Gonzalez
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