View “The Making of an Ortega Pot”

Photography by Kitty Leaken
Written by Deborah Busemeyer

A bird’s eye view of Felipe Ortega’s studio, which was an almost constant hub of activity while he was alive.

To help him set the size of a pot, Ortega would begin by flattening the clay into a tortilla shape, then molding it into a plastic bowl that he called a “puki.”

Each size pot required a different kind of base, which made for a large collection of pukis.

Ortega would then start rolling out a series of clay coils, which began at roughly the size of breadsticks.

As he built a pot, Ortega would press and seal the coils into each other, which makes the sides of a pot almost dangerously thin.

Ortega started out by using the lid of a Spam can to smooth the sides of a pot, a method he learned from his 90-year-old teacher. Later, he switched to commercial potter’s tools.

To finish a pot, Ortega would add layer upon layer of “slip” — muddy clay with extra doses of mica. This method smoothes the pot, boosts its insulating capacities, and adds to its shimmer.

A clay pot needs to dry slowly to avoid cracking, but once it’s begun to harden, it can be finished with a warm sun bath.

Pots aren’t the only things Ortega produced in his studio; he also made “hornos” (large outdoor ovens), and teacups like these.

Before firing his pots, Ortega would give them one last polish with a sandstone, which adds smoothness and shine.

While some modern potters use gas or electric kilns with precise temperature controls, Ortega’s firings were done outdoors with simple materials like tree bark, which can still reach temperatures of around 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit.

As the fire heats up, the various elements in the clay “vitrify,” or melt into one another, forming a kind of ceramic glass. This is what seals the clay, enabling it to hold liquid.

During firing, the pot blackens, but just when the clay’s constituents are fullly annealed, it begins to resume its reddish brown color again. This change would tell Ortega that the firing was complete.

As the finished product cools, it retains colorful remnants of its evolution…

…which become marks of each pot’s journey from earth to vessel. Many potters sell their micaceous wares for thousands of dollars apiece. While he lived, Ortega always kept his prices comparatively accessible at $100 a quart.

Kitty Leaken, a veteran photojournalist, specializes in the art and culture of native peoples around the world.
Deborah Busemeyer has worked for newspapers in Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico, always gravitating toward challenging subjects and those that give a voice to the vulnerable.

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