Lucero, Efrain

Efrain Lucero is a potter from the village of Mata Ortiz in northern Mexico. His brother-in-law, Juan Andrew, taught him the basics but it was Macario Ortiz, the brother of Nicolas Ortiz and Chevo Ortiz, who taught him to fine-tune his process. Then his wife, Antonia Andrew de Lucero, joined in and learned, too.

Efrain is now well-known for his highly polished black graphite pots. Efrain Jr. makes similar pottery but with wider mouths and a more delicate painting style. Efrain Jr. also married Elicena Cota and they sometimes collaborate producing polychrome sgraffito and painted bird, butterfly, dragonfly and branch or mesh designs on a glossy black graphite surface.