Ortiz, Felix

Felix Ortiz ( -2005) was one of the first of the modern-day potters in Mata Ortiz. The “trader story” was that Juan Quezada Sr. single-handedly rediscovered how to make Paquimé Revival pottery and then taught everyone else how to do it. In reality, Juan was working hard at one end of the village in Barrio Centro while Felix, Rojelio Silveira and Emeterio Ortiz were working hard at the other end of the village, in Barrio El Porvenir. They often visited with each other and traded pointers when they hit a roadblock. They all also visited with Manuel Olivas in Casas Grandes when they really got stuck. Manuel had been making Paquimé-Revival pottery for years already and was always ready to share and help.

They were all doing everything they could to introduce their pottery to the world but it was hard until Spencer MacCallum came across some pieces by Juan and then tracked him to the village. As Juan’s fame grew, more and more traders came to Mata Ortiz and slowly, everyone else’s business grew, too.

Felix developed his own style and design library. He mostly made effigy pieces, sometimes polychrome and sometimes black-on-black. He taught his son, Macario Ortiz, to make pottery, too, and Macario is carrying on in his father’s footsteps. Felix also taught many other potters in El Porvenir how to make pottery.