Lorenzo Ortiz and Black Pottery, Oaxaca

The afternoon that we spent watching Lorenzo build a very large pot was nothing short of magnificent.  He starts with clay that comes from a mine that is in his village, San Bartolo Coyotepec.  Zaptotec and Mixtec people have been making pots in the same way that Lorenzo does for centuries.  They were used to carry liquids--mescal, for example.  Up until the general availability of plastic, ceramic pots were the primary mode of taking liquids from point A to point B.

The way that Lorenzo starts is with a lump of clay that he kneads on a stone surface until it has reached the consistency that he is looking for.  Then he starts to literally punch a pouch into the clay, so that it starts to have almost a hollow tube look about it.  Then he puts it on what amounts to a wheel--it is a dried gourd that is balanced on a ceramic dish.  He rotates the emerging pot slowly as he builds up the walls.

Once he has a tall cylinder, he uses ropes of clay to bring the top in to a smaller opening--it is remarkable that the pot is symmetrical and smooth as he works.  It is even more amazing that it does not collapse upon itself--but it doesn't.  After we watch him throw the pot, he shows us the kiln area, and the studio where he sells what he and his daughter have made.  The whole time that Lorenzo was making this pot, she was etching pots that were close to dry with patterns of flowers and leaves and other designs--all done using things that were made for other things--like chap-stick bottoms and toothpaste lids. 

The only problem is that they sell them for almost nothing--I bought three beautiful pots and it was less than $20.  Fortunately, they all made it home, and I have them sitting in a window sill of my Civil War era house, reminding me of the master potter who made them.