The Village of Juan Mata Ortiz lies about 20 miles south of Nuevo Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, Mexico. Situated along the banks of the Palanganas River, this community was originally built by the Mexico Northwestern Railway Company and named after the owner Dr. Fred Stark Pearson. In 1920 the village of Pearson was then changed to Juan Mata Ortiz in honor of the local hero of the 19^th century war with the Apache. There are over 300 artisans living in Mata Ortiz who make “Ollas”. The initial source for the current production of Mata Ortiz Pottery is in the Casas Grandes ceramics tradition. The shapes and designs in the artisans pottery were derived from the prehistoric Paquime styles. A local artist by the name of Juan Quezada is said to be singly responsible for the renewal of the ceramic production that has spread to other artisans in the village of Juan Mata Ortiz.               
          Artisans of Mata Ortiz find clay in riverbeds and hillsides in the village. There are many types of clay, such as grey, peach, white, and red clay. Each Mata Ortiz Pot is hand made without the use of a potters wheel. Pieces of Clay are put into a shallow, dish-like plaster form. Walls of the pot are hand pinched and coiled, then smoothed with a non-serrated edge of a blade. Pots are then burnished with a quartz stone and sanded before painting to achieve a smooth surface. Artists use natural paints made of pigments from minerals. Hair tipped brushes made of children’s hair are mostly use to get fine detail on their pots. Before painting, artists divide their design fields into two, three, four, or even five equal parts by making marks on the lip and base of the pot. They then paint the design outlines freehand, without use of any stencils. They then fill in spaces with a shorter, thicker brush and finally retrace the outline to sharpen the edges of the design. Pots then go through their last step which is the firing process. Each pot is pit fired with either cow manure or cottonwood bark. The Artisan’s of Mata Ortiz create their own distinct style and can be seen in every pottery pieces.
            Inter Artisan brings you the exquisite pottery or Juan Mata Ortiz. The majority of our pottery pieces are purchased directly through the artisans. Some pieces are purchased through a co-operative group which funds each artisan. Custom orders are welcomed. For more information, please feel free to contact us at anytime.