Ron and Vicki Sullivan
Mark your calendars for March 2, 3 and 4.
Quail Creek will host its third annual spring Mata Ortiz pottery, Zapotec weaving and Taxco jewelry show at the Kino Conference Center the first weekend in March. Located in the heart of Quail Creek, Kino Conference Center is adjacent to the Pro Shop and Grill. The event is free and open to the public.
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 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.
International acclaimed Zapotec weaver Porfirio Gutierrez will demonstrate weaving on his loom. His lecture Traditional Zapotec Dyes: Survival in the Modern World will be held each day (refer to schedule).
Rounding out the event is jewelry made from contemporary Mata Ortiz pottery shards and 92.5% 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 to 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. to 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. to 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