Jar

Michoacán is a world reference in folk art, a land of pre-Hispanic ancestral techniques that has the largest number of craft processes in Mexico distributed in its seven regions, the result of a fusion of cultures that is manifested in a varied craftsmanship, of great aesthetic value and diversity of techniques. In Patamban unique pottery is made, modeled and decorated by hand, a very different type of handicrafts with glazed clay, made with white painted clay that when the glaze is applied obtains an intense green color. It is one of the most traditional crafts of the Sierra Tarasca with flashes of the indigenous tradition combined with the Spanish that has evolved into an important current of mestizo pottery. This piece made by the outstanding artisan Vicente Sebastian Contreras is molded and decorated entirely by hand, highlighted by a blue glaze, accompanied by a pastillage band with fine applications modeled in relief in the form of flowers with foliage with a double wavy frame in blue glaze. Glazed pottery in Mexico is one of the most representative throughout the country. Not all glazes are transparent and colorless, there is a great variety of colors that depend on the materials and firing treatments, when they are transparent we can look through them and see the clay paste, sometimes they are opaque and have the effect of a dark glass. The glaze consists of glazing or varnishing applied to the piece of clay, depending on their degree of complexity and size are made between 45 and 120 days requiring two firing sessions for the pieces to acquire the characteristic brightness of the glaze. The glaze is the most traditional pottery of the Sierra Tarasca, its pottery preserves much of the indigenous tradition. In Patamban it has been recognized for its quality and beauty and has been the subject of exhibitions in museums and art galleries around the world. Vicente Sebastián Contreras, receives us in his house which is also his workshop, at one side of the bed he exhibits his pieces on two tables that he protects with cloth and plastic. The firing of his pieces is done in an oven that he himself has built in an open area in the front yard, he is one of the most prolific artisans of Michoacán, winner of the Award for Best Piece of Innovation with Tradition in the Grand Prix of Popular Art 2018, First place in the Grand Prix of Popular Art 2020, Honorable Mention in the 2nd Mexican Folk Toy Museum Contest, second place in the National Folk Art Award 2021, first place in the Patamban Pottery Artisan Contest, second place in the Patzcuaro State Crafts Contest 2022, to mention the most important ones.