Visiting Mexican potters in the mountains outside of Oaxaca

In October, I went to Santa Maria Tlahuitoltepec, a village in the Mixteca mountain region of the state of Oaxaca. It's roughly a two hour drive from the city of Oaxaca. It's a beautiful drive to get there—you start climbing in elevation and soon you see bromeliads alongside conifer trees and agave plants. The air is fresh.

The village is famous for three things--their embroidery on their traditional blouses and shirts (see photo below second from left), their music school, and their clay pottery artisans. I was picking up pottery orders.

The clay is dug from the earth right in town. It's the most beautiful color of clay--a peachy, blush tone. The potters don't glaze their pottery which I am so happy about. Let that gorgeous natural color shine!

I had been to this talented potter’s workshop and home several times before and had placed an advance order with her. This time, I also visited her sibling's workshop. These are humble places—where their workplace is also their home. The kilns are often just a jumble of rocks to create an oven of sorts. The pieces are pit-fired and because of that, they often have burn marks. It's quite amazing to see what they make with so few tools.

The village is indigenous and has its own language. But some of the Mixtecs speak Spanish, too and lucky for me, my two artisan friends do.

Vases and bowls are available in the website. Oaxaca blush vase