San José

Here we collaborated with the Hernández family of San José de Gracia, Michoacán. This town is well known for their beautiful ceramic pineapples, and we fell in love with the processes that bring them to life. One of the techniques is pastillage – clay is formed and pinched with the fingertips to create ornamental details. Another is vidriado. Introduced by the Spanish in the 16th century, it allowed the clay to be fired at higher temperatures through the use of oven kilns. They also brought glazes, which sealed the pottery and gave it a protective, brilliant sheen.