Zapotec weaving and dye traditions come to Quail Creek

 

Ron and Vicki Sullivan

Mark your calendars for March 2, 3 and 4. Quail Creek will host the third annual winter Mata Ortiz pottery, Zapotec weaving, and Taxco jewelry show at the Kino Conference Center. Located in the heart of Quail Creek, the Kino Conference Center is adjacent to the Pro Shop and Grill Restaurant. This event is free and open to the public.

Having recently shared his knowledge of natural dyes and plants with scholars at the Harvard Art Museum, acclaimed weaver, textile artist, and art preservationist Porfirio Gutierrez will discuss and demonstrate his Zapotec weaving culture at the Kino Conference Center. His lecture includes demonstrating how prickly pear cactus pads and cochineal insects are used in the natural dying process.

Teotitlan de Valle in Oaxaca, México, is Porfirio’s ancestral home. Most of his weaving family still reside in the village. The Gutierrez family was recently recognized in a New York Times article for their pigment contributions to Harvard University’s Fogg Museum. The Fogg has one of the largest pigment collections in the world.

This will be master potters Claudia Ledezma and Luis Rodriguez’s first visit to Quail Creek. In October, Claudia won first place in her category at the 2017 Concurso, the annual juried art competition in Mata Ortiz, Chihuahua, Mexico. Their pre-Columbian Mimbres designs combined with fine painting and wonderful textural carving are crisp, clean and perfectly formed.

Also featured for the first time anywhere are young potters Melissa Tena and Nolberto Quintana. Melissa is the daughter of famed potter Fito Tena. She attributes her beautifully designed and carved plates to mentors Nolberto and Fito.

Returning to Quail Creek is master potter Jerardo Tena, who will demonstrate the tortilla y chorizo pottery method that has made the potters of Mata Ortiz a world-class potting community.

Weather permitting, the potters will fire pottery about 11:00 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Rounding out the event is jewelry made from contemporary Mata Ortiz pottery shards and 92.5 percent silver by Agustin Torres Beltran, a Nahuatl Indian in Taxco, Mexico. Each piece is one-of-a-kind, totally hand formed.

Schedule

Friday, March 2: Noon–5:00 p.m.

All day, pottery, jewelry, and weaving demonstrations; 1:00 p.m. “Traditional Zapotec Dyes: Survival in the Modern World” by Porfirio Gutierrez

Saturday, March 3: 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.

All day, pottery, jewelry, and weaving demonstrations; 11:00 a.m. Pottery firing, 11:30 a.m. “Traditional Zapotec Dyes: Survival in the Modern World” by Porfirio Gutierrez, 12:30 p.m. Pottery auction

Sunday, March 4: 10:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.

All day, pottery, jewelry, and weaving demonstrations; 11:00 a.m. Pottery firing, 11:30 a.m. “Traditional Zapotec Dyes: Survival in the Modern World” by Porfirio Gutierrez, 12:30 p.m. Pottery auction