Alberto P.

Alberto P. works clay in Santa María Atzompa, the potters' town on the hills northwest of Oaxaca City, where local clay has been shaped and fired for generations. Atzompa is best known for its green glaze, but much of its finest work is left unglazed. His pieces are natural clay, smoked and fired at low temperature in a traditional kiln: a double-gourd vessel, a cylindrical vase studded with small spikes, a burnished oval platter, and a 53 cm cántaro wrapped in a rope modeled in clay. The smoke leaves soft black clouds over the warm brown of the clay, so no two surfaces are the same.