Dolores Porras

Dolores Porras


The making of pottery among indigenous people is always a family affair, and Dolores Porras, with her family, has been creating pots for over 60 years. She lives in the village of Atzompa, Oaxaca, and when she was young, she worked with the traditional green glazes of the village as well as producing clay "muñecas," or figures of women, as the chief assistant for the famous Teodora Blanco, who was herself a pioneer--taking Atzompa pottery from its previously strict utilitarian usage into an art form in which she expressed her creativity and sense of humor. In an attempt to pull their family out of poverty, Dolores and her husband began to travel to the weekly market in the city of Oaxaca to sell their own work. One day, in a twist of good fate, Dolores went to an artist's studio in the city of Oaxaca to deliver an order. When Dolores saw the artists working in bright colors, she told her husband that they must figure out how to add colors to the otherwise just green Atzompa pottery. In the early-1980's, she began experimenting with glazes and moved away from the typical green glazes that were then used in the area. She developed a translucent white glaze that makes her pieces almost iridescent, and she uses it as a background color behind details that are painted in bright rusts, cobalt blues, deep greens, and yellows. Dolores hand-constructs each piece that she does and often embellishes them with raised stripes, mermaids, flowers and iguanas and then glazes them with her distinctive glazes. As word of her extraordinary talent spread, Dolores began doing demonstration workshops in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and on one such trip, was introduced to a lead-free glazing process, which she immediately adopted. Always the most generous of spirits, Dolores teaches other potters in the US her technique and is still one of the few Mexican potters to be producing pottery that is lead-free. Dolores' husband died just a few years ago and since then, her production was curtailed by her grief and her own failing health. Although there have been many attempts by others in the village to copy her work, it is distinguished not only by the translucent glaze, but by the inimitable Picasso-like figures that she paints or builds on the the surface of the pieces. Her mermaids, iguanas, fish, turtles and snakes enchant the viewer, and her pieces have been in high demand by collectors and institutions since the 1980's. In addition to being able to boast being the first of this now-famous artist's customers, El Interior has been fortunate to have had Dolores come and give a personal demonstration at the store, as well as acquire some of her best work.

To place an order, call (512) 474-8680 or toll-free (888) 474-8680 or email info@elinterior.com Although we do our best to keep our pages updated, please call or email for specific availability


	#DP02 Large La Sirena Pot 22" H $375.00



	#DP03 Large Pot with Variety of Images 18" H $225.00



	#DP06 Medium La Sirena Bowl 11.5" H $128.00



	#DP07 Medium La Sirena Platter 11.5" H $128.00 SOLD



	#DP08 Medium Faces Platter 13.5" H $132.00



	#DP09 Natural Terra Cotta Mermaid Plate 14.5" Diameter $42.00 - Please Inquire About This Piece



	#DP10 Natural Terra Cotta Floral Plate 14" Diameter $38.00



	#DP12 Pottery Woman 8.5" H $40.00



	#DP13 Large - Lizards and Snakes Pot 19"H x 17"W $795.00



	#DP14 Hanging Key Holders #DP14a - SOLD #DP14b - SOLD #DP14c 7"H $20.00


Last updated 12/29/11
El Interior 1009 West Lynn Austin, TX 78703 p. (512) 474-8680 info@elinterior.com www.elinterior.com