The Soteno family of Metepec is one of the main families of ceramic artisans specializing in sculptures called Trees of Life which have made the town found in the State of Mexico one of Mexico’s main ceramic centers. The Tree of Life is a complicated colorful sculpture which was developed from the creation of candlesticks. The family’s prominence began with Modesta Fernández Mata, the mother, grandmother and great-grandmother of the Soteno potters today, who began experimenting making more decorative items along with utilitarian ones. The generations after her have learned the craft and improved on it starting as children working with parents and grandparents. The two most notable members of the family are Tiburcio and Oscar, second and third generation respectively, who have won various awards and have their works in collections worldwide.
Elena Felipe and Bernadina Rivera are Purepecha Mexican potters from Huancito, Michoacán known for making towers of stacked storage containers. The two are native speakers of the indigenous language and are sisters-in-law, with Elena married to Bernadina’s brother. Both learned pottery as children and are passing the tradition onto the next generation.
Emilio Molinero Hurtado was a Mexican potter, noted for his revival of pre Hispanic pottery designs.
Ángel Santos Juárez is a Mexican potter known for his miniatures and decorative work, which has won various awards.
Maximo Gómez Ponce is a noted Mexican potter from the La Luz neighborhood of the city of Puebla, an area known for its local traditional pottery.
The Aguilar family of Ocotlán de Morelos are from a rural town in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. This town produced only utilitarian items until Isaura Alcantara Diaz began creating decorative figures with her husband Jesus Aguila Revilla. The couple taught their five daughters who continued innovating their own styles and then teaching the two generations after them. Two of the sisters, Guilliermina and Irene have been named “grand masters” by the Fomento Cultural Banamex, for their figures and sets of figures related to the life and traditions of Oaxaca, as well as Mexican icons such as Frida Kahlo and the Virgin of Guadalupe. The younger generations have made their own adaptations with some attaining their own recognition such as Lorenzo Demetrio García Aguilar and Jose Francisco Garcia Vazquez.
Hilario Alejos Madrigal is a Mexican potter from a small town in the state of Michoacán, known for his “pineapple” ceramic wares. The name comes from the original form created by his mother, potter Elisa Madrigal Martinez, who created punch bowls in the shape of pineapples. Alejos Madriga’s variations include bowls, candelabras and more, with the version done in a green glaze be best known. Alejos Madrigal has won awards for his work, which is featured on the cover of large reference book Grandes Maestros del Arte Popular Mexicano by Fomento Cultural Banamex.
Adrián Luis González is a Mexican potter specializes in Trees of Life and other decorative pieces.
María de Jesús Nolasco Elías was a Mexican potter from Ocumicho, Michoacán, a town noted for the creation of colorful ceramic figurines.
Florentino Jimón Barba is a Mexican potter based in Tonalá, Jalisco.
Nicasio Pajarito Gonzalez is a Mexican potter from Tonalá, Jalisco known for his canelo ware.
Cesar Torres Ramírez is a Mexican potter who specialized in the country Talavera pottery tradition. His work has been featured in books such as Cerámica Y Cultura: The Story of Spanish and Mexican Mayólica of the Museum of International Folk Art in New Mexico, in the Grandes Maestros de Arte Popular Mexicano as a “grand master” by the Fomento Cultural Banamex and as one of Mexico’s best artisans in a documentary on Canal Once in Mexico.
Jesús Carranza Cortés is a Mexican potter from Tlaquepaque, Jalisco, noted for miniatures he creates in his small workshop there. These pieces are of people such as street vendors, farm workers in traditional attire, lovers, mariachis and more. Most are created in scenes that depict Mexico’s past.
Neftalí Ayungua Suárez is a Mexican potter from Patamban, Michoacán, named a “grand master” of Mexican folk art.
Celso Camacho Quiroz is a fourth-generation Mexican potter who works in Metepec, in the State of Mexico. His specialty is the making of large cooking vessels called “cazuelas,” traditionally used to cook mole and rice, but he also makes a number of other utilitarian and decorative pieces. His work has been recognized with awards such as the Gran Premio de Arte Popoular from FONART in 1999 and being named a “grand master” by the Fomento Cultural Banamex in 2003.
Miguel Chan and Roger Juárez are Mexican potters, partners in producing Mayan culture-inspired pottery in Ticul, in the state of Yucatán. Ticul, along with Mama and Maxcanú are traditional pottery centers for the state, where pieces are made using a k´abal, a rudimentary form of pottery wheel. The pieces are decorated using implements that they make themselves from branches, leather, gourds and feathers.
Fortunato Moreno Reinoso is a Mexican artisan from Ixmiquilpan, Hidalgo in central Mexico. He is noted for his work in reeds and bamboo, a tradition from the Otomi group to which he belongs, learning it from his father and grandfathers.
The Pineda Palacios is a Mexican family of artisans which specializes in the making of nativity scenes with figures made from palm fronds. Their work has been recognized by being named “grand masters” of Mexican handcrafts by the Fomento Cultural Banamex.
Mario Agustín Gaspar is a Mexican artisan known for his work in “maque” a pre Hispanic lacquer and “pasta de caña” sculptures made from a corn-stalk paste. He works in the lakeside town of Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, along with his wife, Beatriz Ortega Ruiz, also an artisan in her own right. Gaspar’s work can be found in collections both in Mexico and abroad, including the Vatican and he has won various awards for his life’s work.
