Oval-Shaped Green/Black Vase, Burnished Clay

Elena Felipe Felix

Elena Felipe Felix was born in the town of Huáncito, Michoacán, México, in the year 1968, in the heart of a Purépecha Natives Legacy family. Since she was very young, her parents and the rest of her family taught her the fine art inherited from one generation to the next, since the 16^thCentury, the art of pottery and burnished clay.Her pieces are full of heart and the very soul of her region, encompassing several hues and tones that serve as the backdrops for some of the most intricate compositions, featuring humming birds, butterflies, flowers and rabbits, all perfectly capturing the beautiful sensitivity of her Purépecha ascendancy and the people’s connection to their environment. Elena has been Awarded in three occasions, with both State and National Arts Awards, and the inspiration put in all of her pieces definitely shows why!

In the 16^thcentury, right after the conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards, a Catholic Bishop named Vasco de Quiroga decided it was very important to nourish and help the communities that were broken by the hardships of that time, and decided to learn and see what each community’s skills and cultures favored, so that he could help them learn a craft that would sustain and improve their economies and their lives.

It was then that the Purepecha people of Huancito, Michoacán, were assigned with producing beautiful and practical pottery, made from local clays and beautifully colored and decorated with mineral pigments which the Purepechas were very familiar with.

Practical and essential for their water storage needs inside their homes, the pot and vase towers produced by the community started becoming more and more skillfully crafted and designed, until they became amazing works of art that could inspiringly stand on their own!

It all starts with clays that are bought in the town of Tarecuato, and after following the basic process that leads to a malleable clay mass, Artisans put into use their ancestral molding, shaping and modelling skills that give life to the most beautiful shapes.

Working on top of a large wooden slab, which serves as a platform for the careful shaping and modelling process, and for some special pieces, they use carefully designed molds that ensure the right shape and junction points happen every time for later joining both halves of their pieces. Exceeding clay is cut delicately by using threads, and afterwards, using a damp cloth, they start to softly burnish the surface of the pieces.

The amazing reddish tones on the pieces comes from a unique coloring process using a watery solution of “Charanda”, a local soil-based pigmentation process that enhances and livens up the colors of the piece, all while sealing the smallest pores on the outside of it. Then, using a pyrite stone, the outer surface is thoroughly burnished, all while scrubbing little by little with a damp cloth and repeating the process, then the natural pigment painting and pattern work is done just prior of firing the piece in a traditional oven.

The end result, is a unique piece that will captivate and nourish your imagination and inspire you every time.  Proud tradition that has lasted and grown over centuries, right from the hands of these amazing Purepecha Artists from Michoacán.