Pa Ipai Pottery Making

In honor of Native American Heritage Month (November), I am focusing on the
ancient pottery-making process practiced in the Pa Ipai community of Santa
Catarina, Baja California.

Daria Mariscal, Pa Ipai master potter and teacher, in her home museum

In 2011, Daria invited me to bring friends to her home to learn pottery making
in the Pa Ipai tradition. I drove a group of excited students to Daria’s in Santa
Catarina, about 45 minutes east of Ensenada, Baja.


Daria welcomed everyone and led us to her demonstration area under the
shade of a live oak canopy next to a lean-to. We would learn a pottery
technique that began in prehistoric times and has the longest continuous
history in the Californias.


Daria gave us each a ball of clay that she had prepared. On the previous day she
dug raw lumps of earth from a local pit, pulverized them, added cactus juice,
and kneaded several batches. I was impressed with the intensity of the effort
required just to fabricate workable clay. It was nothing like what I was used to
– a simple trip to the art store. Would I have the patience to start from scratch
– with the earth itself? I doubted it.

Daria instructed us to form a tortilla with half of the clay we were each given. We used
our hands to work our tortillas around a circular ball. We each smoothed the bottom of
our pots using a polished stone with a little water.

Several bases ready for molding into pots

Daria shows us how to release the bottom of our pots from the molds.

We form our pots with wettened hands, attaching rolled out coils (“cigars”) while

pinching and smoothing to add height.

Daria shows us how to shape our pots and form a lip at the top, smoothing the surface

with the polished stone and water.

A teenager gets better results than I do.

Daria forms a pitcher while instructing us.

Our pots are ready to dry prior to the firing process.

The firing will take place in a few days in a pit like this, using dried yucca stalks for

firewood. I will return to retrieve our finished pots.

Daria’s pitcher with graceful lines next to my crude pot (my first attempt being a little
disappointing – but, heh, I did it). Black markings are called “fire clouds” and result
spontaneously in places where the pot touches hot coals during the firing process.

Just Say “Yes”!

A few months ago, friend and women’s empowerment activist living in Baja,
Mary Contreras, invited me to present at the second annual BAJA WOMEN’S CONFERENCE on September 21, 2024.


I thought of many reasons to hesitate, like the fact that I’d not driven alone
(egads) or lived in Baja for five years or I was out of practice being a presenter,
on and on. Then I remembered the advice of an elder mentor, “Just say ‘yes’,
take the next step. One thing leads to another.”


My mentor was the age I am now and “Just say ‘yes’” had served her well
during a long and fruitful career as an expressive arts/movement therapist and
teacher.


When Mary offered to put me up as her guest in her lovely home close to the
Pacific Ocean, my “YES”! became enthusiastic.

The Baja Women’s Conference opened with keynote speaker, Gloria Snyder,
and she followed her talk by forming a circle of wisdom.

Participants in wisdom circle outside the Rosarito Center for the Arts, Baja California

Gloria smudged each participant as a reminder of all the women who have come

before and dedicated themselves to our well-being.

In one of the many breakout sessions, I offered an expressive arts group
dynamic where the ten participants could experience sound and movement,
artmaking and poetry. Personal sharing was a key element.

First, I handed each participant a percussion instrument and a scarf.

Then I demonstrated how we could each make a sound with an instrument and
movement with our scarves. I added repetition of my name three times. Each
one followed by introducing herself in her own unique way. We got to know
one another a bit. I put on lively music to bring our energy up and invited
everyone to move and dance.

At the table, I offered an art adventure with rectangular paper and colored
pencils. Each of us drew a figure or simply interesting lines and passed the
paper in front of us to the right. We repeated the process until the original
came back to each person. We shared a title for the piece and what we noticed
in the final drawing. Mine contained mountains, a tree, the sun, clouds and
some flowers. This spoke to me of all the aspects of nature. It was as if they all
knew what a nature lover I am. The drawings were a gift to take home,
something special that had been touched by each person.

Our final creative venture was an acrostic poem, using each person’s name
written from the top to bottom of a page of paper. We added words across the
page that incorporated each letter of our name. For instance, mine read: SUSAN

Each participant read her poem aloud and what inspired her to write it.
Throughout the 1 ½ -hour session, we learned a bit more about each member
of the group through the processes of creative expression. A warm bonding
happened naturally.


When it was time to leave and attend the next session, the light in each
person’s eyes, the smiles on their faces and the warm “thank you’s” were my
greatest rewards for just saying “yes”.

Screenshot

Baja Wildfires: From Wildflowers to Wildfires

Wildfire season seems to come earlier and earlier. Weather patterns don’t stop at the California/Baja border. Baja is prone to wildfires just the same as California.

A few months after I bought my townhome in the seaside community of Bajamar in 2005, a wildfire swept through the scrublands in front of this brand-new home and threatened to burn it down. I arrived the day after and found complete destruction in the open fields in front of my home.

Driving up to the scorched land, I feared that the inferno had burned down my new home.

This painting by friend Michael Robinson depicts what was going on in my imagination.

In a stroke of good luck, the homes on my street escaped the ravages of the November 2005 firestorm but some trees got charred. Smoke lingered from other wildfires that were still burning.

Fourteen years passed before another wildfire threatened Bajamar. During the daytime of October 25, 2019, blazes broke out in the mountains east of us and 80 mph gusts of hot, dry Santa Ana winds blew the wildfires towards us and the ocean next to us.

This Robinson painting suggests the fires breaking out on hillside after hillside as I watched in horror from my second story bedroom window.

As night fell, the wildfires brightened the sky with their ominous flares of brilliant orange. These paintings by Robinson evoked frightening memories.

At midnight, all the residents of our community evacuated to our on-site restaurant to escape the oncoming firestorm. The one and only highway in and out of Bajamar was threatened by wildfires to the north and south of us. We were trapped!

All night long we watched in horror as the night sky lit up with blazes that inched closer and closer to the restaurant. Palms trees lit up like torches and flamed out. Dense scrubland shrubs ignited – blazing and glowing for hours. Fortunately, the grass growing around the restaurant, wettened by sprinklers, kept us safe. 

When the fires burned out, we returned to our homes as dawn broke. I gaped in amazement at the destruction of the wildlands on the north side of our community. Homes stood unscathed but the landscaping around them was seared. 

Fourteen years after the first wildfire, in a second stroke of good fortune, this wildfire did not reach the scrublands in front of my home. However, some families were not so lucky. Forty homes in the nearby village of La Misión burned down. The wider community came together to help out the survivors of the wildfire. The destructiveness of nature’s infernos imprinted upon my mind for good.

Baja Wildflowers, etc…

May, 2024 – Sue Niazi McDevitt

When spring arrived in Baja, I roamed the coastal scrublands around my home in Bajamar to see how many different wildflowers I could find. If it had been a particularly wet winter, there would be surprises in abundance.

I would bring home a stem of each one and render their blossoms in watercolors.

Baja California nightshades (above left) grew in clumps close to the ground and were usually a rare find. The flowers varied from light lavender to deep purple.

The San Diego sunflowers (above right) were more prolific and grew waist high. Their sunny faces gave me a lift on the gray sky days of May next to the Pacific Ocean (known as “May gray”).

California deerweed (above left) had broomlike branches and its soft brown and yellow flowers made it a weed that anyone could love.

Buckwheat (above right) was a common bush and the cotton ball like flowers dried to brittle brown tufts in the summer.

There were several different mallow bushes (above left) in coastal Baja – I viewed some growing along the sides of highways. Flowers varied from white to pink to apricot.

Agaves (above right) grew in profusion in my surroundings, even hanging from cliffs. When the central stalk bloomed and dried out, the entire plant would eventually die and be replaced by sprouts growing at the base. They are sometimes called Century Plants because it takes such a long time for them to bloom.

Orange nasturtium vines (above left) rambled over other lower growing plants and rocks and sometimes covered pathways all winter long – the more rain, the bigger they grew and the more they rambled. The heat of summer dried them out and they completely disappeared until the following winter.

I was smitten by the simple beauty of the San Diego sunflowers (above right) and other members of the daisy family and painted them in a variety of settings.

I planted sunflower seeds in my garden in Baja every year. This one was a giant variety that grabbed my attention at a winery in the Guadalupe Valley. I pulled a chair up close to the plant and tried to capture in watercolor how the rays of the sun hitting the petals and casting shadows on the leaves. I’m still a nut for sunflowers.

Wild datura plants were domesticated into upright bush shapes and commonly called trumpet flowers.Wild datura plants were domesticated into upright bush shapes and commonly called trumpet flowers.

Before I moved to Baja, I had only seen plump red pomegranate fruits at the store. When I found a pomegranate tree, bearing these flowers in different stages of development, I was awed.

I loved the profusion of hibiscus I grew up with in tropical south Florida and was amazed to see how well they adapted to coastal Baja.

I have been entranced with wildflowers and garden flowers my entire life. They continue to be my favorite subject for painting.

7 Escapades near and in Tulum

Riviera Maya 2013

1 – Playa del Carmen – Beach at Playacar and

2 – Playacar Ruins

It was the coldest winter that I’d experienced in Baja. The dream of warmth in the Yucatán Peninsula drew me to the Riviera Maya in January 2013. After flying into Cancun, my first stop was Playa del Carmen to visit a friend with a comfy room just for me.

It was there that I started a watercolor sketchbook and travelogue.

A jungle path took me to the ancient Playacar Mayan ruins and then on to a Caribbean beach with clear turquoise water and soft sand.

A strangler fig tree led me down the path to the beach and the various tourist-oriented beach lounges with food and beverage service.

The warmth and beauty of the clear Caribbean put a smile on my face.

3 – Xaman-ha Aviary in Playa del Carmen

The Xaman-ha Aviary was within walking distance and I was met at the entrance by a roseate spoonbill and a Caribbean iguana. I entered a magical world of tropical birds and lush vegetation.

The plentiful flamingos honked like crazy and sometimes marched in unison.

4 – Next stop Tulum and Zamas Hotel

I took a colectivo (shuttle van) from Playa del Carmen into the town of Tulum. Then a taxi delivered me to Xamas on hotel row. It was an eco-hotel located on a Caribbean beach with a more turbulent, milky turquoise sea.

Xamas was called an eco-hotel because they depended on the stiff breezes off the Caribbean and intense sunshine for wind and solar power. The room was round with abundant sunlight and air and was constructed of local materials. I felt nested in nature.

The beach was great for lounging and painting in my watercolor sketchbook. I enjoyed watching the local brown pelicans divebomb into the sea for their food.Palapas (shelters with a roof of thatched palm fronds) were a ubiquitous construction method in the Caribbean.

The beach was great for lounging and painting in my watercolor sketchbook. I enjoyed watching the local brown pelicans divebomb into the sea for their food.Palapas (shelters with a roof of thatched palm fronds) were a ubiquitous construction method in the Caribbean.

5 – The Mayan Ruins of Tulum

The iconic Mayan ruins of Tulum were within walking distance but it was way too hot for that, so I took a taxi.

Well-kept pathways led to the various temples. It was once an important trading hub, exporting jade and obsidian. Because this settlement was built on seaside cliffs, it was easily defensible.The views of the Caribbean were stunning.

In addition to the well-preserved ruins, I enjoyed the birds and flowers I saw there. The fat Yucatán blue jay was perched on a branch at my eye level and its blue feathers were radiant. The great grackles were ever-present and noisy.

6 – The Ruins of Cobá

I took a taxi inland for an hour to reach the highly recommended ruins of Cobá

The Temple of the Mayans and the ball court were outstanding.

I took a pedi-cab because the heat was so oppressive. My guide was a good-humored young man who filled me in on the ancient ways of the Mayans.

These upright stone stelae at Cobá usually depicted rulers and their history.

7 – Cenotes near Tulum

The Gran Cenote, on the outskirts of Tulum, is one of many marvelous underground sinkholes where the collapse of limestone has exposed groundwater.

Cenote Dos Ojos is in a vast jungle park with many cenotes interconnected by underground rivers. It’s about a half an hour from Tulum. Swimming was quietly delicious below ground where the temperature was 20 degrees cooler than the surface of the jungle.

Love Affair with the Riviera Maya

Bacalar, Quintana Roo, Mexico in 2011

Art Rendezvous at Casita Carolina in Bacalar

Sunrise at Casita Carolina next to the Lake of Seven Colors, Bacalar

I enjoyed doing quick sketches every day over the seven days of the art rendezvous. We visited a different painting location each day. Among the venues were – the Mayan ruins of Dzibanche, friends’ gardens, Cenote Azul, the Old Fortand scenes in town. We mounted a “clothesline art show” on the last day and sold our pieces to neighbors, friends and art supporters.

Boy selling veggies and flowers in town

A tropical plant vendor in town

Tropical tree at the Mayan Dzibanche Ruins

Our “clothesline art show” was open to the public on the last day of the art rendezvous.

I was inspired to paint more watercolors at home and mounted a show in Ensenada, Baja California in June 2011

The show took place at the Pérez Meillón Gallery at the invitation of owner, Adalberto Pérez Meillón (far right). We named the exposition: “Love Affair with the Riviera Maya”. On opening night, the response was outstanding. My watercolors were so enticing that guests wanted to know how they could visit such a lush and colorful location in Mexico. Several finished watercolors are shown below.

The Lake of Seven Colors at Casita Carolina

Sunrise at Cenote Azul

Mural on Wall of Laundry “Lolita” in Bacalar

Hummingbird and white trumpet flowers

Whale Watching from a “panga” in Baja

Ojo de Liebre (near the town of Guerrero Negro) is a vast lagoon protected from ocean predators. It is a safe place for mothers to give birth and couples to mate. It’s about 500 miles south of the Baja border with California. From January through March each year, gray whales arrive from the Bering Straits in Alaska. Mothers and babies will approach the relatively small “pangas” like the one in this photo. They are curious creatures who sometimes seek out human contact. They seem to be as fascinated by us as we are by them.

This mural marks the turn off from the town of Guerrero Negro to the whale watching dock. The lagoon is part of a biosphere where human contact happens when it is initiated by the whales and it is carefully regulated. My first visit to see the whales was in 2007, a year after moving to Baja. And I got to pet one!

Two gray whales come close to our “panga”.

A curious whale surfaces to take a look around. This is called spy hopping.

Some of the more playful whales appear to love being touched by humans. Others will get under the “panga” and gently rock the boat, apparently, just for the fun of it.

When the whale makes a deep dive and flaps its tail, it’s called fluking. Another behavior that can be seen from a safe distance is breaching. This is when the whale forces its massive body upwards partially out of the water, turns around and slaps down. This creates impressive splashing that can be seen for miles.

I had fun doing quick sketches of whale behaviors I observed and the massive skeleton outside the whale center (shown below).

If you live near the ocean in San Diego or Baja, this is the time of the year you may start seeing the whales moving south, hugging the coastline as they release air and ocean water through their blowholes. They usually travel in pods and tend to surface briefly for air, dive, and disappear for several minutes before resurfacing a few miles down the coast. 

I’ve had the thrill of observing an energetic young whale breach five times in front of me while I was standing at a whale watching pavilion in Bajamar. To say it was spectacular is an understatement.

How I was Adopted into a Family of Potters (Part Two)

The Pottery Making Process

Can you imagine creating a highly artistic piece of pottery without ever going to the store for supplies or using a kiln to fire it? Can you imagine using your own hands and materials from the earth to create this pottery?

​The many pottery making families in the small town of Mata Ortiz, Chihuahua, take pride in using clay that they dig from nearby deposits and grinding local minerals to make their paints.

Preparing the clay at the home of Rosy ​     Sample mineral

Mora and Adán Villalobos

Rosy kneaded the clay to eliminate air pockets and showed me how to hand build, using one of the gesso bowls as a base.

First, we formed “tortillas” and pressed them into the base, then added a “cigar” to build up the sides and created a circular opening.

My pot was ready for the next step of smoothing surface with a used hacksaw blade. Rosy worked on the Christmas ornament (upper right).

The next step was sanding the dried pot (either left on a windowsill on a warm day or at a low temperature in the oven to dry). The opening was sanded to an even circle. The sanded piece was then burnished with a rounded rock or the back of a spoon until it had a polished look (upper right).

Rosy’s daughter, Nancy, sanded a pot that she later burnished and painted herself.

Nancy painted tiny flowers on her pot. Brushes were made by tying children’s hair to a stick. Traditional colors were black and terra cotta and paints were made from ground minerals and oil.

Rosy painting a traditional pattern.

Here the family was involved in the process of pottery making in the shade of a front yard tree.

When several mini pots (or a larger pot) were ready for firing, they were placed in a galvanized bin and elevated on wire coils. Firing was done in a backyard free of vegetation.

After the coals were removed from around the bin, a bent piece of rebar was used to extract the pots from the bin so that they could cool off.

A display of finished pottery by one of Rosy’s sisters

Rosy’s son, Osvaldo, taught me the “sgraffito” technique (from the Italian Renaissance). I painted my pot black, polished it and scratched back into the surface of the pot to create designs of nature near my home in Bajamar. Osvaldo’s designs were taken from nature near Mata Ortiz.

When Adán started showing us the surroundings of Mata Ortiz in his old Ford Bronco, I had no idea that I would become such a welcome guest of the family, nor that Rosy and her mom would teach me to hand build my own pottery piece. 

I am still in touch with Rosy via Facebook and all the children have grown up in the 14 years since this photo was taken by my traveling companion, Valentín, who passed away in 2019. I continue to treasure my friendship with Rosy, Adán, Nancy, Osvaldo and Eva.

How I was Adopted into a Family of Potters (Part One)

The Mata Ortiz, Chihuahua, family of potters who adopted me when I visited the famous pottery village in 2009 and 2011 with Valentín. (Rosy Mora and Adán Villalobos and children – all grown now).  

How it all Started

What led me on my first expedition to the famed pottery village ofMata Ortiz, Chihuahua, in 2009? As promised, here is another adventurewith Valentín (my Mexican companion).

As you may remember, Valentín was a salesman for Adalberto Pérez Meillón at the Pérez Meillón Gallery. Featured in the gallery were magnificent hand-built ceramics from Mata Ortiz, Chihuahua. Just out of college, Adalberto taught in an elementary school near Mata Ortiz and eventually became a shop owner in Ensenada and the exclusive representative of Mata Ortiz pottery in Baja California.

The more information they shared about the Mata Ortiz potters and their acclaim throughout Mexico and the Southwestern United States, the more I wanted to meet the potters first-hand in their own hometown. Adalberto made frequent purchasing trips to Mata Ortiz and he and a friend had built a modest adobe home in the El Porvenir neighborhood. He kindly made his vacation home available to Valentín and me for a visit.

Adalberto’s home under a mountain peak called “El Indio” 

The Amethyst Colored Wall

It didn’t take me long after arriving at Adalberto’s vacation home to meet some of the potters.  I ventured out for an early morning walk in the neighborhood the day after we arrived. Young people emerged from their home studios with pots in their hands asking me if I’d like to see more.

When a particularly persistent grandmother invited me into her home, I couldn’t resist. Even though I was carrying no money, this did not deter her from treating me with great kindness. Antonia displayed pottery crafted by many different members of her family.

I told her I was interested in the miniature pots she showed me. She said were hand made by her daughter Rosy and we left each other as new friends.  Her adobe fence was washed with a lovely shade of amethyst, which was a sign to me that I would surely return – amethyst being my favorite color.  

I got back from my walk and Valentín had breakfast waiting for me. Then there was a knock on the front door.  It was Rosy Mora with a handwoven basket full of miniature pots to show me. (Rosy’s mother, Antonia, had phoned her and she drove over immediately.)

Rosy and her miniatures

I was so smitten with the mini pots that I bought every single one of them – the whole basketful. Rosy had arrived in the family Ford Bronco and Valentín saw an opportunity to arrange transportation for us for our 10-day stay. (We had arrived by bus and taxi and were housed on the outskirts of Mata Ortiz.)

Rosy drove back home and returned with her husband Adán who agreed to drive us anywhere we wanted to go during our stay. We were immediately incorporated into their family of five and met many extended family members who were also potters.

Rosy (maroon shirt), Adám (in back), Antonia (red shirt) and extended family members welcomed us as if we were long-lost cousins.

Our days were spent sharing meals with Rosy and family, visiting local sites and museums, and driving to mountain overlooks. Rosy and her mom offered to teach me how to make a pot with my own hands using the Mata Ortiz technique developed by master potter Juan Quezada (a former neighbor of Rosy and Adán’s).

​I was skeptical about my ability to hand-build a nice-looking pot. Working in three dimensions has never been my forte. However, Rosy and her mother encouraged me to try. Below is a spoiler for Part Two where I’ll cover the steps of crafting Mata Ortiz pottery and firing without a kiln.

The final version of my 4” mini pot that was completed in Rosy’s kitchen studio.

How I was adopted into a Family of Potters (Part Two) is coming next month

Where to Find Cool, Clear Water in Baja

August 17, 2023

How in the world could anyone imagine that there might be an oasis in the desert within this hot, dry Baja landscape? How about jumping into a pick-up with Mexican neighbors and a bunch of kids and heading down a rutted dirt road east of Ensenada in 2007 to find out?

Just trust your neighbor to get you to Agua Caliente (Hot Water). Heh, I’ve been here before! Back in the early 70’s. It looks just the same 30 + years later – just a little more worn. 

And here it is! The cool, clear water! What a find! The pool on the far right is for lazing in the naturally healing sulfur hot springs. Next to that is the pool for cooling off on a hot summer day.

The bath houses have been upgraded a bit and each contains a tub of hot spring water.

The chapel on the hill is still standing and was recently painted inside. The Virgin of Guadalupe takes center stage as the patron saint of Mexico.

None of the grills were functional but with a little Mexican ingenuity, one was cobbled together. 

Chicken tacos never tasted better.

Yummy!

Tree climbing is fun!

Here’s wishing you cool, clear water and plenty of shade this summer.