Frank Colson on wed 25 jan 06
John- Do take note that a true blood "Mexican Indian" would be Aztec or
Maya. Natives in the Oaxaca region are mostly of Maya descendent but
heavily mixed with Spanish blood, as is the bulk of the Mexican population;
Spanish/Aztec.
Mexicans are very hard working and very clever. Once, in Oaxaca, when
Enrique del la Lanza, drove me to the site where I was building the
pottery, he could not get the gate unlocked. I watched him resolve the
problem very simply by pulling the oil dip stick out of his vehicle engine,
allowing the oil to drip off of the bottom of the stick into the key hole of
the lock! Carumba! Inserting the key into the lock again, it opened like a
charm. I could go on about "clay" stories of this type.........but, hey; go
live in the area and experience it.
Frank Colson
www.R2D2u.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Connolly"
To:
Sent: Wednesday, January 25, 2006 1:09 AM
Subject: Re: Mexico Trip
> I've never heard of Mexican Indians using phoney blacking on pots. Of
course that doesn't mean that it doesn't happen.
>
> Here in Ensenada, the only workshops we get are families from Mata Ortiz
who come over and demonstrate their techniques in two-day sessions which
usually include a lesson in painting with a one-hair brush and a cow-dung
finring. When I asked about the one hair, the father reached over and
snatched one from his daughters head.
>
> The one part I have never seen demonstrated is the blacking of the pots.
They tell me they mix graphite into kerosene and apply it with the bare
hands, rubbing it into the clay. The graphite is what burnishes to such a
high shine. One older potter told me that he had begun to use rubber gloves
because the years of abuse left his hands sensitive.
>
> John Connolly in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Do you Yahoo!?
> With a free 1 GB, there's more in store with Yahoo! Mail.
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
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>
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John Connolly on wed 25 jan 06
Hi Frank, I think that you would find a difference of opinion among the almost 200 varieties of indiginous people in Mexico, from Seri to Yaqui to my local Pai Pai. Those native to Oaxaca are easily identified because they are distinct in body type; rather short, rather round, and with very round faces. They are the people who make agriculture possible in California. Their wives and children are peddlers on the streets of Tijuana and Ensenada, and encounter some resentment.
If you are on the streets of Tijuana or Mexicali on a Saturday night, you will see the clear cut image of the yaqui in from the ranchero with black hats, boots and pressed levis. They are referred to as Nortenos, because of the geography.
Most of the handmade ironwood images sold on Mexican streets are made by Seris, who until resently were confined to Tiburon Island in the Sea of Cortez. They are the only indios never defeated by the Mexican army; peace had to be negotiated with them.
It's a fascinating country.
John Connolly in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
Frank Colson wrote:
John- Do take note that a true blood "Mexican Indian" would be Aztec or
Maya. Natives in the Oaxaca region are mostly of Maya descendent but
heavily mixed with Spanish blood, as is the bulk of the Mexican population;
Spanish/Aztec.
Mexicans are very hard working and very clever. Once, in Oaxaca, when
Enrique del la Lanza, drove me to the site where I was building the
pottery, he could not get the gate unlocked. I watched him resolve the
problem very simply by pulling the oil dip stick out of his vehicle engine,
allowing the oil to drip off of the bottom of the stick into the key hole of
the lock! Carumba! Inserting the key into the lock again, it opened like a
charm. I could go on about "clay" stories of this type.........but, hey; go
live in the area and experience it.
Frank Colson
www.R2D2u.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Connolly"
To:
Sent: Wednesday, January 25, 2006 1:09 AM
Subject: Re: Mexico Trip
> I've never heard of Mexican Indians using phoney blacking on pots. Of
course that doesn't mean that it doesn't happen.
>
> Here in Ensenada, the only workshops we get are families from Mata Ortiz
who come over and demonstrate their techniques in two-day sessions which
usually include a lesson in painting with a one-hair brush and a cow-dung
finring. When I asked about the one hair, the father reached over and
snatched one from his daughters head.
>
> The one part I have never seen demonstrated is the blacking of the pots.
They tell me they mix graphite into kerosene and apply it with the bare
hands, rubbing it into the clay. The graphite is what burnishes to such a
high shine. One older potter told me that he had begun to use rubber gloves
because the years of abuse left his hands sensitive.
>
> John Connolly in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Do you Yahoo!?
> With a free 1 GB, there's more in store with Yahoo! Mail.
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
______________________________________________________________________________
Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
With a free 1 GB, there's more in store with Yahoo! Mail.
Frank Colson on thu 26 jan 06
John- Good description! Thx. I used to surf in Ensenada as a kid when one
got there only on a one lane dirt road coming down from the U.S.
boarder where we were required to go through a "pro" station to be sure we
didn't have the Clap!
Frank-
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Connolly"
To:
Sent: Wednesday, January 25, 2006 10:41 PM
Subject: Re: Mexico Trip/dip stick
> Hi Frank, I think that you would find a difference of opinion among the
almost 200 varieties of indiginous people in Mexico, from Seri to Yaqui to
my local Pai Pai. Those native to Oaxaca are easily identified because they
are distinct in body type; rather short, rather round, and with very round
faces. They are the people who make agriculture possible in California.
Their wives and children are peddlers on the streets of Tijuana and
Ensenada, and encounter some resentment.
>
> If you are on the streets of Tijuana or Mexicali on a Saturday night,
you will see the clear cut image of the yaqui in from the ranchero with
black hats, boots and pressed levis. They are referred to as Nortenos,
because of the geography.
>
> Most of the handmade ironwood images sold on Mexican streets are made by
Seris, who until resently were confined to Tiburon Island in the Sea of
Cortez. They are the only indios never defeated by the Mexican army; peace
had to be negotiated with them.
>
> It's a fascinating country.
>
> John Connolly in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
> Frank Colson wrote:
> John- Do take note that a true blood "Mexican Indian" would be Aztec or
> Maya. Natives in the Oaxaca region are mostly of Maya descendent but
> heavily mixed with Spanish blood, as is the bulk of the Mexican
population;
> Spanish/Aztec.
>
> Mexicans are very hard working and very clever. Once, in Oaxaca, when
> Enrique del la Lanza, drove me to the site where I was building the
> pottery, he could not get the gate unlocked. I watched him resolve the
> problem very simply by pulling the oil dip stick out of his vehicle
engine,
> allowing the oil to drip off of the bottom of the stick into the key hole
of
> the lock! Carumba! Inserting the key into the lock again, it opened like a
> charm. I could go on about "clay" stories of this type.........but, hey;
go
> live in the area and experience it.
>
> Frank Colson
> www.R2D2u.com
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "John Connolly"
> To:
> Sent: Wednesday, January 25, 2006 1:09 AM
> Subject: Re: Mexico Trip
>
>
> > I've never heard of Mexican Indians using phoney blacking on pots. Of
> course that doesn't mean that it doesn't happen.
> >
> > Here in Ensenada, the only workshops we get are families from Mata Ortiz
> who come over and demonstrate their techniques in two-day sessions which
> usually include a lesson in painting with a one-hair brush and a cow-dung
> finring. When I asked about the one hair, the father reached over and
> snatched one from his daughters head.
> >
> > The one part I have never seen demonstrated is the blacking of the pots.
> They tell me they mix graphite into kerosene and apply it with the bare
> hands, rubbing it into the clay. The graphite is what burnishes to such a
> high shine. One older potter told me that he had begun to use rubber
gloves
> because the years of abuse left his hands sensitive.
> >
> > John Connolly in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
> >
> >
> >
> > ---------------------------------
> > Do you Yahoo!?
> > With a free 1 GB, there's more in store with Yahoo! Mail.
> >
> >
>
____________________________________________________________________________
> __
> > Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
> >
> > You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> > settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
> >
> > Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots@pclink.com.
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
>
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Do you Yahoo!?
> With a free 1 GB, there's more in store with Yahoo! Mail.
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
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