All in the Family

Mother and son Mirna Hernandez and Jesus Octavio Silveira Jr.

Ron and Vicki Sullivan

Mark your calendars for March 1, 2 and 3. Quail Creek will host its fourth annual spring Mata Ortiz pottery, Zapotec weaving and Taxco jewelry show at the Kino Conference Center.

For the first time, master potters Mirna Hernandez and son Jesus Octavio Silveira Jr. will be featured artists at Quail Creek’s Kino Conference Center. Mirna’s intricate slip designs and sculptured vessel necks have dazzled admirers from Santa Fe to Tucson. Jesus, following in his mother’s traditions, has developed as a masterful graffito artist carving intricate flora and fauna designs.

Join us for master Zapotec weaver Porfirio Gutierrez’s “Traditional Zapotec Dyes: Survival in the Modern World” lecture and dye demonstrations every day at 1:00 p.m.

Peruse his displays of eye dazzling colors as they appear to dance and glow, evoking the many moods of his Zapotec heritage. Woven by hand, he and the Gutierrez family evoke the intricacies of traditional Zapotec art.

Porfirio writes, “This art form is a deep part of my culture and in my life. It is like my native language or our ceremonies. The cochineal produces a color just like the color of our blood, the weft and the warp are like the tissue in our body. Textiles are our second skin as well as a means of expression.”

Returning for the fourth consecutive year are husband and wife team Jerardo Tena and Norma Hernandez. They are known for their miniatures, animals and effigy figures.

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 wrapped in 92.5% silver by Agustin Torres Beltran, a Nahuatl Indian in Taxco, Mexico. Each piece is one-of-a-kind, totally hand formed.

And if by now you’ve wondered, “Are Mirna and Norma related?” The answer is a resounding yes, they are sisters. Coupled with the Gutierrez family, this show is indeed “All in the Families.”

Friday, March 1, noon–5:00 p.m.

Saturday, 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.

Sunday, 10:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.