Arturo Garcia Bustos’s Murals Adorn the Walls of the Presidential Palace, Oaxaca, Mexico

Photographic Print

Gordon, Russell

Buy at AllPosters.com

Framed Mounted

A Mural by Arturo Garcia Busto is a post from: Mexico with Heart - Living, Traveling, and Retiring in Mexico

Here Ken is describing a good way to take a picture of several people — to get one to point at something all are looking at. I like having a picture of Ken with his pottery in use on the table in front of him! (We’re on our front porch here, which is why there are bars on the window behind us.)

That photo doesn’t do justice to Joel’s good looks, so here is another:

Joel is like a son to Ken, running the factory here in Mexico, and an extremely fine artist in his own right. He showed Kelly and me some photos of him with President Calderon, where he was receiving an award a couple of months ago, for a gorgeous pot he had created. He came in third in all of Mexico in a competition of thousands of potters. When he gets more details up on his blog, I will link to it.

4 Comments from the old blog:

• At December 13, 2007 1:38 PM,  Anonymous said…

  I discovered your blog a few months ago, and have enjoyed it greatly. I lived in Tlaquepaque, Tonala, Chapala and Ajijic in the 1970s as a teenager. It was the most wonderful experience a teen could have. We lived next to Ken Edwards in Tlaquepaque (on Madero). In another of your blogs, you mention DH Lawrence’s former house in Chapala. We lived in that house well before it became a bed and breakfast. Keep the memories coming! Thanks – Jennifer

• At December 13, 2007 4:29 PM,  Rosana Hart said…

  Jennifer, on the chance that you come back here, I’d love to post any memories you’d care to write up!
  Rosana

• At January 23, 2008 9:39 PM,  amy said…

  I am a huge fan of Ken Edwards work. Were in Mexico is his work produced and do they allow visitors? I would love too!

• At January 23, 2008 10:28 PM,  Rosana Hart said…

  Amy, the factory and store I know about are in Tonala, just on the edge of Gaudalajara. The store is open for business regular business hours. I don’t have the street address or hours handy but google ken edwards tonala, and you should be able to find them. BTW, in the US, you can get a lot of Ken Edwards pottery on eBay.

Potter Ken Edwards Visits Us is a post from: Mexico with Heart - Living, Traveling, and Retiring in Mexico

After we talked, we went next door to the factory and Ken showed us around. It was evident what good relationships he had with the workers. He goes back decades with many of them.

Here, he stands in front of one of the kilns. Unfortunately, I’ve forgotten the details of what was unique about this particular kiln, but he had invented some aspect of it! Everything they do is reduction stoneware.

The shelves (and parts of the floor) were full of pots that had been fired but not yet glazed.

The men who paint the charming designs on the pottery work together; there were about six of them.

They hold their brushes in what we would consider an upside-down position, which Ken had discovered actually works better for accuracy!

Here is one of the large stoneware pots soon to be fired again.

At the Ken Edwards Factory in Tonala is a post from: Mexico with Heart - Living, Traveling, and Retiring in Mexico

Recently I was emailing with a man who had some questions about getting set up with a website. He mentioned that he was Ken’s nephew, and that Ken was in Tonala for a few days. This fellow, Peter, thought that we and Ken had a lot in common and would we like to meet him? I said sure, and so Ken and I exchanged a few emails. It was obvious that Ken had a far-ranging mind… He was fascinated by Kelly’s earthbag building techniques, for one thing!

So yesterday we found Ken at his apartment next door to the Tonala factory. He sold the business a while back, keeping just a small percentage ownership, but he still comes to Tonala regularly and is involved with it. We settled down to chat a while. I hadn’t really known what to expect, but Ken Edwards is a fascinating raconteur, and that far-ranging mind goes everywhere! At 82, Ken has lost none of his marbles… he has more on the ball than most people of any age. That’s inspiring to us as we look ahead.

I knew that he had first come to Mexico in 1954, and I asked him to fill in some of his history with my little voice recorder going. You can hear part of that via the link at the bottom of this blog entry.

I notice now, playing the mp3 file back, one spot where my editing of the file last night makes for some confusion. Where he’s talking about working with Jorge Wilmot in doing pottery, I cut out some bits and suddenly he’s saying “We came down,” and I ask if it’s Edwards James. James was an eccentric Englishman whom Ken had known in Malibu, famous for later building the surreal Las Pozas in the tropical jungle of Mexico… that link takes you to my photo page from several years ago, when Kelly and I went there and were enchanted by the place. I digress… but that’s the way the conversation went! This selection is about 11 minutes long and talks about teaching English as a second language, Bohemians, and more, with a few bits about pottery. Now and then you hear Kelly’s voice too.

Ken went on to tell us about the years in Tonala and Tlaquepaque, his life with his wife Jackie who is mentioned in the conversation. (She died 12 years ago, and her ashes are in this pot, which was her favorite.) His pottery became world famous. This seemed to matter less to him than the adventure of whatever is next. I was intrigued by how technical his mind is… besides the artistic side, he was always coming up with new ways to do things in the factory. Ken and Kelly talked about earthbag building and catenary arches. Ken was astonished to learn that I’m the daughter of Cordwainer Smith, as he loves science fiction. The time sped by. I asked him if he had any advice for staying so sharp mentally. He commented that in his case, he always has a new project going.

Eventually, we went next door to see the factory, and I will blog about that shortly.

Now here’s the link to the mp3 file of the first 11 and a half minutes of our conversation… It will probably open to play in the same window or tab you are now in.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

6 Comments from the old blog:

• At November 28, 2007 1:30 PM,  Ken Edwards said…

  WOW! Rosana, you sure do work fast! You had this page up 15 hours after you and Kelly left here. Are all Gringas like that?
  The page is Great! And I was horrified to hear my rusty voice saying all those dumb things.
  Let me take some time to absorb all of this.
  Joel arrived late last night and he is all excited about you guys and your Blog!
  He wants to know if you can help him make a blog for KE.
  Ken

• At November 28, 2007 10:09 PM,  A scientist in the kitchen said…

  I’m interested in the earthbag homes. DO you also have an earthbag house in Mexico?

• At November 29, 2007 8:40 AM,  Rosana Hart said…

  Our home in Mexico is an old brick one that Kelly has used earthbags just to insulate the large front porch roof which we are turning into a sunroom.
  People are using earthbags more and more all over the world. There’s a list of projects at

  http://earthbagbuilding.com/projects/projects.htm

• At April 21, 2008 3:29 PM,  Babs said…

  I have just discovered your blog today as a result of comments on Mexico 501. I commented also on living in Mexico.
  I am SO happy to know that Ken Edwards is still around – I knew him back in the 80’s and early 90’s when I was exporting out of Mexico for restaurants and hotels in the US I was designing and building. THEN I was in Guatemala two years ago in a VERY remote village and saw the words KEN EDWARDS and was so surprised. I’m glad to know I wasn’t hallucinating.
  Add to that that I’m taking a tour group to Xilitla and the Sierra Gorda to see Edward James Las Pozas in August and it adds up to the fact we have some things in common. I’ll be reading your blog regularly now…………I’m at www.babsofsanmiguel.blogspot.com if you’re interested.

• At January 11, 2009 1:44 PM,  Anonymous said…

  “I’ve forgotten the details of what was unique about this particular kiln” .. Prior to Ken Edwards setting up shop in Mexico most Mexican pottery contained lead. Ken Edwards received an award from Mexico’s President for teaching Mexican potters how to increase the temperature of their kilns to burn the lead out of the glaze used to decorate the pottery making it safe to eat off of or drink out of. That may be the answer to your question.
  In the early 70’s, while on vacation in Mexico I picked out my dinner plates and other pieces of decorative pottery from the factory in Tonala and cherish them to this day.
  Your website brings back many wonderful memories of meeting Mr. Edwards and visiting with the artisans who lovingly create and sign (by small animal design) the back of each piece of pottery. Thank You

• At February 11, 2009 1:36 PM,  Stephanie Raffel said…

  Oh my gosh, I am absolutely thrilled to find this blog and these posts, but especially to hear the interview with Ken Edwards! This man is nothing short of a living legend.
  We lived in Guadalajara 1974 – 1977 while my husband was in medical at UAG. With the devaluation of the peso in 1975 we were able to go to the factory in Tonala and purchase a set of dishes, all seconds and we cherished them for many years. As starving students it was indeed a luxury to be able to buy what we did. We returned in 1987 and bought another entire set of dishes which we still use today. We had arrived in Tonala on a Sunday and the factory was closed. Jackie met us at the factory and let us in to select our dishes. I’ll never forget it. Albondiga was a bit testy that day and bit our son, but she was getting older and not about to get friendly with some nine year old kid.
  My husband and I have listened to the interview again and feel honored to hear words from the master. We are now retired and heading to Guanajuato with the intention of buying a set of Mayolica style dishes . . . . so far I have not seen anything that is as beautiful as what we bought from Ken Edwards, Tonala.

Meeting Ken Edwards of Tonala is a post from: Mexico with Heart - Living, Traveling, and Retiring in Mexico

We got there early on the first day, and strolled around before getting down to serious shopping. The organizers gave out lovely large shopping bags, as you can see on the arm of the woman on the right:

The artists come from all over Mexico, and pay no fees for their booth nor percentage of sales. They are put up and fed by local Mexican families. The whole thing is a labor of love, to help keep Mexico’s incredibly rich treasure of arts from dying out. It’s funded by a 50 peso entrance fee and I imagine by donations.

Many of the items were somewhat beyond my budget, but when I chatted with one artist, I learned that the straw painting I admired had taken her about a week and a half. Maybe next year! Kelly took a photo of this lovely Virgin, and I trimmed out the background so you can see her. She was made here in the state of Jalisco. Every table had a small page you could take, telling about the artist, how to reach them, how they did their works, and so on. Unfortunately, I didn’t get one for this piece.

Many items are also very reasonably priced. Here, I had just bought this folk art style cross from Felipe Benitez Miranda, who painted it, and he kindly allowed me to take his picture. These crosses were 220 pesos (about $20 US) and have great detail. He is from Guerrera but lives now in San Miguel de Allende, where the address on his card is Artesanias Benitez, Andador Lucas Balderas, 3rd section, Local #15.

Once home, I spread a few of our new treasures out on our bed. Our cat Misty was interested in the stuffed cat! All but the cross are destined to be gifts.

Kudos to Marianne Carlson and the many volunteers who make this such a wonderful event! Here’s a very nice blog article (by someone else) about Marianne Carlson with background on how the Feria del Arte came to be, with photos.

The Feria Del Arte in Chapala is a post from: Mexico with Heart - Living, Traveling, and Retiring in Mexico

2 Comments from the old blog:

• On March 16,2009 , La Tejana said…

  I was wondering if had contact information for the artist that make the corn husk dolls. I found one kind in San Antonio for $19 dollars. The price seems reasonable but I was wondering if I could get a better price direct from the artist. I will need about 20 dolls for my daughters quinceniera in June of 2010.

• On March 16, 2009, I said…

  Luckily, we had been given a business card when we went there two years ago and even more luckily… I just found it!
  The dolls are made by a cooperative called "Mi Pueblito San Cristobal, in San Cristobal Zapotitlan, which you can get to by continuing around the lake… turning left after Jocotepec at the corner where you would turn right to go to Jocotepec.

  Of course, I don’t know if you are in San Antonio Texas or the nearby San Antonio Tlayacapan!

  The contact person for the cooperativa, at least two years ago, is C. Maria Florentian Osorio Rito. The coop is at Zaragoza #33-A in that town, if it hasn’t moved, and the phone number on the card is 387 76 321 67.
  Hope this helps, and hope you succeed!

Mexican Corn Husk Dolls is a post from: Mexico with Heart - Living, Traveling, and Retiring in Mexico

To San Juan Evangelista is a post from: Mexico with Heart - Living, Traveling, and Retiring in Mexico

It was totally wood-fired, and you can see the pile of wood on the right, a bit brighter because the sun was shining in on it. I asked how long the firings were for and was told about half an hour. I also asked if they burned tires in the kiln, as many of the brickyards do, but they said no, they used just wood.

They only do earthenware here, and leave it unfinished or paint it. You can also put an acrylic sealant on it (Sellacril is one brand name), though I didn’t.

Much of their output is imported into the US, but we were most welcome to roam around the huge shed; what you see below is less than a fourth of the space. I asked what we could choose from to buy, and the answer was "All of it!" Prices were low… I got seven small to medium pots for just under $25 US total.

Here’s a turtle I bought there, now quite at home in our yard, sprouting one of the many spider plants that grow outside in this climate. He’s just above our swimming pool, and when I showed him to Rosa, my cleaning lady and friend, she said (in Spanish) "Maybe one day you’ll find him swimming in the pool!"

On our way home, we stopped at a brickyard. I was instantly fascinated by this small dog and asked the men there what kind it was. They were surprised by the question and basically said that it was just a dog. My theory is that it is all or mostly Xoloitzcuintli, an indigenous Mexican breed (aka Mexican hairless) that I got intrigued by in November, in Colima. I did a couple of blog entries about the Colima dogs then.

Another great outing!

UPDATE: The factory has since closed, so I have removed the directions there. Rumor has it that they couldn’t compete with the Chinese in the US market.

Visit to a Pottery Factory is a post from: Mexico with Heart - Living, Traveling, and Retiring in Mexico

Shrines to the Virgin of Guadalupe is a post from: Mexico with Heart - Living, Traveling, and Retiring in Mexico

Their whimsical designs captivated me. So eventually I came back and after mulling over a variety of delightful items, I bought a t-shirt.

But what a t-shirt! Here are some close-ups from the embroidery on it, representing village life:


And here is the whole design:

I think I’ll go back to that booth next year. The price of this t-shirt was 200 pesos, just over $18.00 US.

Michoacán Embroidery is a post from: Mexico with Heart - Living, Traveling, and Retiring in Mexico