CLAY Festival 2016 Artist Profile: Javier Cervantes

Category: Local Events Local Events
Published: 24 June 2016 24 June 2016

Cervantes 1 RSCervantes 2 RSSilver City, NM ' June 22, 2016

"El barro es todo, vamos a celebra el barro"
Clay is everything, let's celebrate clay!

Javier Cervantes has been celebrating clay his whole life and is bringing that spirit to the 2016 CLAY Festival.

Born in Mexico City in 1953, at age 12 Cervantes visited the Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City, and was fascinated by the many rooms containing ceramic and stone objects from all different regions of Mexico. These objects ranged from functional forms to some of the most sophisticated anthropomorphic ceramic sculptures made in the world. He was particularly drawn to the objects that represented the pre-Hispanic cultures of Nayarit, Michoacan, Veracruz, and Oaxaca. Images of these objects have remained in his memory to this day, and help inform the aesthetic of his personal sculptural work.

Cervantes has dedicated his life to learning about the diverse world of ceramics, and has developed a special affinity to the terra sigillata technique. His 4-day, hands-on workshop during this year's CLAY Festival will engage the participants in the exploration of this wonderful and ancient technique. Participants will make free form pots for the application of terra sigillata, a slip and burnish process, and cover their work using collected earth pigments as colorants.

"We have collected and used earth pigments from many regions of Oaxaca with great results. We intend to collect pigments that we encounter on our travels to Silver City to test as colorants in terra sigillata," stated Cervantes. The finished pots will be fired in a pit, and be a celebration of clay and fire!

Cervantes has been a professional ceramicist for forty years. Throughout his career, he has had many exhibits in Mexico, and his work has become a part of both private and public collections. For the last decade, Cervantes has been involved with firing in wood-fire kilns in a community in Oregon. He continues to experiment with clay bodies and glazes to complement his wood-fired work. Cervantes' work, and that of his partner Barb Campbell, will be presented at Blue Dome Gallery at Bear Mountain Lodge during the 2016 CLAY Festival'including works from their most recent 120-hour wood firing.

To register for this and other workshops, please visit www.ClayFestival.com or call 575-538-5560.

Content on the Beat

WARNING: All articles and photos with a byline or photo credit are copyrighted to the author or photographer. You may not use any information found within the articles without asking permission AND giving attribution to the source. Photos can be requested and may incur a nominal fee for use personally or commercially.

Disclaimer: If you find errors in articles not written by the Beat team but sent to us from other content providers, please contact the writer, not the Beat. For example, obituaries are always provided by the funeral home or a family member. We can fix errors, but please give details on where the error is so we can find it. News releases from government and non-profit entities are posted generally without change, except for legal notices, which incur a small charge.

NOTE: If an article does not have a byline, it was written by someone not affiliated with the Beat and then sent to the Beat for posting.

Images: We have received complaints about large images blocking parts of other articles. If you encounter this problem, click on the title of the article you want to read and it will take you to that article's page, which shows only that article without any intruders. 

New Columnists: The Beat continues to bring you new columnists. And check out the old faithfuls who continue to provide content.

Newsletter: If you opt in to the Join GCB Three Times Weekly Updates option above this to the right, you will be subscribed to email notifications with links to recently posted articles.

Submitting to the Beat

Those new to providing news releases to the Beat are asked to please check out submission guidelines at https://www.grantcountybeat.com/about/submissions. They are for your information to make life easier on the readers, as well as for the editor.

Advertising: Don't forget to tell advertisers that you saw their ads on the Beat.

Classifieds: We have changed Classifieds to a simpler option. Check periodically to see if any new ones have popped up. Send your information to editor@grantcountybeat.com and we will post it as soon as we can. Instructions and prices are on the page.

Editor's Notes

It has come to this editor's attention that people are sending information to the Grant County Beat Facebook page. Please be aware that the editor does not regularly monitor the page. If you have items you want to send to the editor, please send them to editor@grantcountybeat.com. Thanks!

Here for YOU: Consider the Beat your DAILY newspaper for up-to-date information about Grant County. It's at your fingertips! One Click to Local News. Thanks for your support for and your readership of Grant County's online news source—www.grantcountybeat.com

Feel free to notify editor@grantcountybeat.com if you notice any technical problems on the site. Your convenience is my desire for the Beat.  The Beat totally appreciates its readers and subscribers!  

Compliance: Because you are an esteemed member of The Grant County Beat readership, be assured that we at the Beat continue to do everything we can to be in full compliance with GDPR and pertinent US law, so that the information you have chosen to give to us cannot be compromised.