Those who visited Mexico in 1989 recall plates, stunningly painted, vividly colored cups, and serving dishes worthy of hanging in galleries.  “Yes, they are affordable, but  you can’t  use them because of lead paint.”  These last two words have discouraged admirers of Mexico’s earthenware.  Lately, such worry is becoming misplaced.

Mexico’s National Fund for the development of Arts & Crafts (Fonart) sponsored research that has inspired a revolution in the kilns of this nation’s potters since 1999.  Rather than using lead, which fuses at low temperatures, most potters are now using boron, also low-temp with an added bonus:  it’s non-toxic.  According to Fonart, “more than half of Mexico’s potters have switched and this segment is now earning four times what lead-based potters were earning a decade ago” ( due to the pricing in export markets).

Mexico’s Talavera ceramics are the oldest tin-glazed ceramics in the Americas, dating from the 1500′s.  At that time, craftsmen from Spain’s Talavera de Reinas were sent to Mexico where local artisans were already producing more detailed ceramic painting.  Spanish monks taught Indians about potter’s wheels and glazes, and the monks learned just as much about an extraordinary culture of decorating pottery.

Today, Mexico sells more Talavera-style pottery than Spain.  Just another lesson the New World has ‘learned’ from the Old World?   Mexico is on its way to abandoning lead-based paint completely.   This act is most important to Mexico’s millions of potters, who now enjoy kilns with exhaust fans to improve performance …in addition to living longer!  It’s pure fusion, this blending of the old and the new.    How can one argue with fusion?

Tags: fonart, lead paint pottery, Mexico, pueblo, talavera pottery
Categories: Mexico

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 24th, 2009 at 11:56 pm and is filed under Mexico. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.