Tales from Oaxaca – Dia de los Muertos- Ocotlan Pottery

Another field trip took
us to the pottery villages and cemeteries surrounding Ocotlan. We visited the studios of the famous Aguilar sisters which had us all drooling over their amazing ceramic figures.

They had a small space where they sold their work, but I was really taken by their ceramic figures out in the elements. This charming Guadalupe graced the top of a wall at the entrance…

while these creatures called to us from another wall.

And Joseph, Mary and baby (? kinda big ) Jesus blessed this archway above the studio. I love the muted tones of the pottery as it weathers the elements. Nice to see it in it's natural habitat, not in a fancy gallery or a museum.

Our Lady of Guadalupe was everywhere. This one in a little niche by the parking lot.  I never get tired of her compassionate countenance.

Another graceful Madonna very present on our daily rounds was Our Lady of Soledad, the patron saint of Oaxaca. This one from a potter that Juan took us to visit.

We also visited with an 83 year old Zapotec woman, Dona Sophia, who amazingly still makes
traditional black pottery in the ancient way. The black pot to her right is a finished piece. 

Here she molds the base of a jug.

She gave a demonstration sitting on the ground on a woven mat. Working the clay with her very old and very beautiful hands she shaped a pot using a “wheel” made of 2 saucers, one inverted to spin on the other.

She was the only person there that morning
running the demonstration – and her shop, and I was very touched by her artistry,
grace and stamina. 

This table stood in her courtyard, the remains of a meal present on a simple wooden table.

A step closer revealed this beautiful still life. In Mexico, and in life, if you stop to look and really observe, there is beauty everywhere.

Next up? Ofrendas – Day of The Dead alters.