The Last Potter of Ixtlan and the Quiet Revolutionaries

1610 Lena Street,Santa Fe NM 87505

20 August, 2022

Description

No flower blooms forever. In March of 2022 Amelia Aquino, at 94, fired her last pots. The last pots by the last generational pottery of a mountain village in Oaxaca, Mexico. The end of an ancient era. This talk is an homage to Amelia Aquino. It is the story of generational learning, the highway that was built through her village long ago, plastic buckets and the modern world spilling into old ways. It is a story of tenacity, resistance and honoring clay. And it is a story of loss. The kind of loss that is all too common when the modern world overwhelms traditional ways. But this is also a story of adaptation and resilience. For even as the last potter of Ixtlan put down her tools, other potters in other Oaxacan villages have quietly changed the trajectory of their communities, finding a way to balance a four thousand year old tradition with the 21st century. Eric Mindling, author of the book Fire and Clay, The Art of Oaxacan Pottery, will share these stories and explore the tenuous balance of ancient tradition in the 21st century. And we are honored with a rare offering, for we were able to acquire many of the pots from Amelia's last firing and will be presenting them after the talk. Come , listen, learn, dialog, see and share. Amelia Aquino prepares to fire her last pots