We are proud to introduce our new line of
Ixachitlan handmade pottery. The pottery is made entirely by hand by artisans from the community of Villa Progreso. Villa Progreso is a community of the state Queretaro located 74 km southwest from the city of Queretaro. Its name comes from the two hills between which it is located, the “Otomies” used to call it “Bothe” or Place of the Two Hills. Villa Progreso was inhabited mostly by the Indian “Otomies” that came from Xilotepec (near Mexico City) in 1942.
A family of Villa Progreso’s community began making this beautiful pottery about 40 years ago. The artisans use ancient techniques that have been passed down from their ancestors. Now, the production is run by a daughter and her family and about another 20 people from the same community participate in the creation of each piece. Below is a brief demonstration of the pottery making process.
First: The clay is pounded into the molds and left for drying...
Second: The dried ceramic products are lightly marked with a pencil to paint symmetrical figures...
Third: The artisans mark with pencil the different figures on the ceramic using paper...
Fourth: One artisan paints the plain color lines and the other one paints the figures...
Fifth: Another artisan paints the small dots on the ceramic pieces...
Sixth: Once the paintings are dry, the ceramic pieces are cooked in an oven at 1200 °C...
Note: The pieces are stoneware and can be used in the microwave and do
NOT contain lead.
