Ángel Ortiz Father and Son
Ángel and his father, who has been making ceramics for more than 50 years, work in the traditional pottery town of Tonalá, Jalisco. They have revived traditions from the thirties that had actually disappeared from their village. They are among very few Mexican artists who have been selected to sell their work at the International Folk Art Market in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
A Life-Changing Experience
Galería Atotonilco owner, Mayer Shacter, himself a studio potter for twenty-seven years, met the Ángel Ortiz family ten years ago and was awed by the quality, imagination, and sheer beauty of their work. He began representing them and developed a very close friendship with the family. In 2012, he helped them apply to the International Folk-Art Market in Santa Fe, a highly competitive, world-famous market, and was thrilled when they were accepted. With their letter from the Market, the Ángels’ were easily able to obtain ten-year visas. Mayer offered to accompany them to Santa Fe, and in July, they all set out for the Ángel’s first airplane ride ever, and their first time in the States.
Their pottery created a sensation at the Market. The Ángels could barely contain their excitement as they wrote up sale after sale, and watched and listened to one amazed, grateful customer after another. At the end of two and a half days, they had made as much income as they had ever earned in two and a half years!
The experience was life changing for this family. Over the next few months, they put a proper kitchen and bathroom in their home, which they had never before had. Ángel senior got a knee replacement, which he badly needed, and now walks all over like a trooper, pain free.
Description of the Work
Ángel Ortiz and his son make burnished ceramics in a variety of forms including vases; plates; chargers; squat vase forms with three feet; distinctive heart-shaped vases; nahuals (mythological creatures); round jars with three feet; anthropomorphic whistles; and traditional masks.
The distinctive and extraordinary feature of their work is the gorgeous and highly skilled slip decorations on the pieces. Their brushwork is as refined as the finest Japanese brushwork. They paint with slip (liquid clay) complex designs including such themes as country life; mythology; flora and fauna, old Tonalá stories; and national pride.
Method of Work
They hand build each piece using press molds along with other hand-building techniques. When the item is completed, they rub the surface with a smooth river rock and water to prepare it for colored mineral slip decoration. Next, they decorate the piece with colored mineral slips using fine, hand-made brushes. They then burnish it a second time with a smooth iron pyrite stone.
They place a number of pieces in a gas, ceramic-fiber-lined updraft kiln. The pieces are fired up to a temperature of 1,115 degrees Fahrenheit.
The father and son work on separate pieces. They do not work on each other’s pieces.
