Flower Pot

Michoacán has the largest number of handicraft processes in Mexico, the result of a fusion of cultures that is manifested in a varied craftsmanship, of great aesthetic value and diversity of techniques. It has the largest number of artisan processes in Mexico distributed in its seven regions, the result of a fusion of cultures that have evolved from the utilitarian to the decorative. High-temperature ceramics are characterized by a highly resistant and durable finish. Famous for its brilliant and deep colors and vitreous finish. In the field of Mexican craftsmanship, it means the adoption of a new technique that enriches it and that was a significant change in Mexico at the time of the conquest. In Tzintzuntzan, the traditional pottery of the lake area, is made with brown clay with white bath in which hand-drawn motifs of fish, fretwork or scenes of life on the shores of the lake. This vase made by the outstanding artisan Guadalupe García, winner of the Eréndira State Prize (2019) in the traditional arts category, is distinguished by being molded and decorated entirely by hand with fine finish and iconography of fish, traditional millenary of the Patzcuaro region. Mexico is the country in America with the largest and most varied production of handicrafts or folk art, the technical legacy accumulated, enriched and invigorated by a people through several centuries despite temporary annihilations and prohibitions in the time of the conquest. The current popular art conserves indigenous and pre-Columbian elements, important Spanish influences modified and adapted. High-temperature ceramics is one of the oldest techniques in the world, however, in Mexico it is only 30 years old. It is characterized by its great hardness and resistance to abrasion and long durability. It has no glaze detachment and has absolutely no permeability. It is a technique brought to Mexico by the Spaniards and modified with flashes of indigenous tradition as a result of cultural syncretism.   Currently in Mexico there are about fifty high-temperature workshops with influences from all over the world that have developed their own stamp, initiating new traditions. Following their traditional mechanisms, the production is of family character, in which all the members of the family participate actively, each one with specific tasks. In addition to the great poverty and lack of basic education among the peasant population, handicrafts are a basic activity along with agriculture and the only means of obtaining cash income without the danger of selling or alienating the harvest. Crafts are also an economically productive activity in which all members of the family can participate, regardless of age or gender.