Tonala Black Clay Pottery

Small Black Clay Vessel

La Familia Mateos

The Mateos family has been making Tonala black clay

pottery for several decades.  They work in a home studio

space that is delightful, and many members of the family

participate in the various steps.

Each vessel is coated before it is fired.

The brush is cloth.

I have put some pictures below to share the process with you.

There are many steps in the production of these exquisit vessels.

	The process begins by mixing several clays together to get a clay maleable enough to allow the shaping as well as the etching of each individual piece.
	Eusebio begins to form the clay by hand.
The vessel is made in two pieces	The pieces are united to form the vessel
Rigoberto combines parts that make the shape.	He then removes imperfections and adds or subtracts decorative elements.
The vessels are placed in the sun to dry.	After they have dried sufficiently they are ready to work.
The vessel is then rubbed with a small river stone, using water, to eliminate the roughness, polishing the surface.	When the vessel has been polished smooth and shiny, it is covered with an earthtone, like a terra cotta.
It is then covered with an animal fat to preserve the shine on the pot and allow the design to be rapidly cut into the vessel.	The design is then cut into the vessel.
When the vessels are ready they go to the kiln.	Several pieces are put into the kiln at one time.
The vessels are turned frequently.	They are covered with Eucalyptus leaves to give them the rich black color.
When the fire has burned out the vessels are cleaned.	The result is an exquisit Tonala black clay vessel.

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