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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.