Eli Ortiz: Black on Black Mata Ortiz Pottery mata ortiz add to its endearing look

add to its endearing look

a goat in cleats holding a ball is good company to have on the shelf

every animal carries a particular energy—its tona—and combining two creatures blends their strengths into a single

Striking one-piece rattlesnake by artist Mario Castellanos

Eli Ortiz: Black on Black Mata Ortiz Pottery mata ortiz add to its endearing lookEli Ortiz keeps the Ortiz tradition alive in black. He is the son of the late Eduardo "Chevo" Ortiz, one of Mata Ortiz's most celebrated potters, and this piece carries that lineage directly. The graphite black on black technique that defines this olla traces back to the Ortiz family itself. Chevo's brother Macario discovered that graphite left on a pot's surface before firing retained its silvery sheen afterward, and what began as an accidental