Juan Quezada, The First Potter

    Even as a young child, Juan was attracted to artistic expression. His mother claimed, according to Spencer, that Juan would cover the walls of a room in their small home with drawings. Then, he would wash the walls to erase the images and begin again. The fields and hillsides around Mata Ortíz were scattered with potsherds from the prehistoric Paquimé group which populated the area around 1000 AD. In 1953, when Juan was 13, he began collecting these scraps of an ancient society while cutting firewood in the hills. 

    Experimentation was the key, but eventually, Juan was making small pots as gifts for friends and relatives. When he and a friend decided to walk the 100 miles to Palomas and cross without papers near Columbus, NM to work in the United States, Juan took some pots with him. He sold them in the Mexican border town of Palomas and returned home to make more pottery.

    Juan took a local job with the railroad to support himself and his family while he experimented with the pottery techniques. He also encouraged his brothers and sisters, Nicolás, Consolación, Reynalda, and others to make pottery. They learned from him and by 1974, Juan was able to quit the railroad and concentrate on potterymaking. His main customer was in Nuevo Casas Grandes.

     In 1976, Spencer MacCallum met Juan after buying three of Juan's pots in a junk store in Deming, NM. "They showed such integrity of form and design that they captured my heart and my imagination," he wrote. Spencer, a social anthropologist without a faculty affiliation, was an adventurer. He, his 79-year old mother and a friend who spoke fluent Spanish, Louisa Miller, set out to find the artist. The quest was one of those things that was just meant to be: it look them fewer than 48 hours.

    The threesome drove south from Deming, NM, across the border and headed for Nuevo Casas Grandes. Along the way, they stopped in each town they came across, displaying photos of the three pots. By the time they reached Casas Grandes in the late afternoon, Spencer said he had made about two dozen contacts, with "three or four" referencing Mata Ortíz. The next day they drove out across the valley to find the village.

    There was no real road in 1976, but eventually they dropped down a dusty hill to a sleepy little village. Near the entrance, they encountered a youngster on a donkey. After seeing the pictures, the boy told them to follow him. Soon, they were directed to a small house. At the door, they were greeted by a woman, Guillermina, and ushered in. Coincidentally, Juan entered through the back door at the same time. 

    Captivated by this man and his art, Spencer developed a business/friendship relationship with Juan. Basically, Juan was allowed to express himself artistically, while receiving a stipend to support his family. In this way, Juan could concentrate on improving his technique and making better pottery (although he had the freedom to explore other artforms, if he wished) while knowing that his family would be clothed and fed. The partnership flourished for several years. Eventually, the relationship changed. Juan was represented by others and, for a while, had an exclusive contract with Japanese interests. Now, he sells his pottery independently.

    Spencer MacCallum's visit and subsequent relationship with Juan affected more than just those two families, however. From 1976 to 1983 few people were making pottery in Mata Ortíz: the Familia Quezada; Taurina Baca, who learned from Juan; Feliz and Emeterio Ortíz, who began making pottery after seeing Juan's early success, and a few others. In the mid-1980's many others began making pottery and now over 300 potters work either full or part-time.

    The influence of Juan and Spencer is now felt by many families in the village of Juan Mata Ortíz, along the Palanganas River in Northern Chihuahua.

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