Rachel and Eric on mon 22 sep 97
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Sandra,
Except for in a very few villages, all the potters are women. In
Santa Maria Atzompa the women form and adorn all the pots and the men help
with glazing and usually do the firing. In the Isthmus town of Ixtaltepec
where the 4' tall pots are made it is only men who do the pottery. In San
Bartolo Coyotepec where the shiny black burnished pottery is made, men and
women work side by side. In almost every other case it is only the women who
make the pots, from gathering clay to firing. The men farm.
The wooden carvings made here are quite amazing. They are
principally made in two villages, Arrazola and San Martin, close to Oaxaca
city. This is actually a new form of folk art here, having its origins some
30 years ago. It has gone hogwild and ment great economic success for these
two vllages. (my wife is actually doing her masters thesis studing the
impact of the immense harvesting of copal, the wood used to make these
figures.) Just recently the potters of Atzompa have started using the same
acrylic paint that the woodcarvers use to decorate their pots. I suspect
that this is as a result of seeing all the colorful wood animals around.
These painted pots see to be selling alright in the city. I also know a
couple of woodcarvers who have bought some pots and tried to paint them up
as they do their figures. The results, so far, have been less than
spectacular. But I'm a baised judge. I find these pots perfect as they are.
It's great to hear you are enjoying the e-mail tales!
Eric
Eric Mindling & Rachel Werling
Manos de Oaxaca
AP 1452
Oaxaca, Oax.
CP 68000
M E X I C O
http://www.foothill.net/~mindling/
telefax (951) 3-6776
email: rayeric@antequera.com
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