Left: Oralia Lopez

On Saturday, August 1 from 9 am to 4 pm, artist Oralia Lopez and author John Bezy will offer ongoing presentations, demonstrations, and pottery for sale in the Silver City Museum Annex at 302 W Broadway in downtown Silver City. This event is offered in conjunction with the Silver City Clay Festival and another museum event, a Raku firing demonstration with Claude Smith III in the museum courtyard taking place at the same time.

Master artist Oralia López has set the standard in Mata Ortiz for finely executed geometric pottery designs. She is most famous for her unique patterns of graduated squares and triangles, drawn with such exactness that a secondary design of diamonds is produced. The designs are painted on white clay with black, red, and white paints. Like all of the members of her family, Oralia uses paints mixed from local minerals.

Her work is inspired by a rich heritage of Native American religious symbolism in geometrically patterned ceramics, and provides a spiritual connection to artists whose identity is lost in the mists of antiquity. Oralia's great dedication to her work is reflected in the magnificent quality of each piece. She shows her work throughout the United States, and her reputation as an exceptional artist has spread to Europe and Asia.

For more information, please contact the museum at (575) 538-5921, info@silvercitymuseum.org, or go to the museum's website www.silvercitymuseum.org.