Ortiz, Macario

Macario Ortiz is the brother of Eduardo “Chevo” Ortiz, Nicolas Ortiz, Osbaldo Ortiz and Salbador Ortiz. Together, they were the music group Los Hermanos Ortiz and they played all over northeastern Mexico from their base in Mata Ortiz. As they got older, though, they took on families and other responsibilities. Most of them became potters, Macario became an influential one.

Macario’s pots are mostly a glowing black-on-black with a slight reddish hint. He and his brothers found a place along the road to Ciudad Juarez where they can dig a reddish-ochre clay they call almagre. To get that reddish hint, Macario paints the entire pot with a mix of graphite and almagre, then he fires it in an oxidation atmosphere.