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New Arrivals $10 and Under |
Cocuchas are a unique hand craft from the state of Michoacan, Mexico, perfected by the Purepecha people over the course of history. Three hundred years ago, through the Catholic church, the Spaniard Vasco de Quiroga shared with these indigenous people this African pottery technique so that they could create storage vessels for their grain and water.
Like many of Mexico's art forms, Cocuchas are hand made from local volcanic clay. The clay is dug up and then transported back to the village by mule where it is mixed with sand. The Purepecha women add water to this mixture and then begin an exhausting barefooted "dance" over it until the desired consistency is reached. To form the vessel, large rings of clay are pulled upwards into slab shapes using adept hand strokes until the desired size and contour are formed -no wheels, molds or other devices are used to configure the appearance of the Cocucha. The Cocucha's surface is then smoothed with a wet stone and allowed to dry in a dark room until all moisture evaporates. What makes Cocuchas unique is the way the vessel is fired. The pot is placed in the middle of the family's mud courtyard and then gently surrounded and piled with wood until it is fully covered. The wood is then lit and the Cocucha begins to cook. The temperature of the fire determines the earth tone that the clay will take on its surface, and the positioning of the wood its black markings. Once the wood has burned, the vessel is removed from the ashes. As it is wiped with a damp cloth, the markings that the coal left on the pot become apparent. Because of the process used to cook Cocuchas, no two pots are ever alike. While Cocuchas are still used in the Purepecha village as storage vessels, people who have discovered and are willing to truck them out of their remote mountainous village, prefer to use them as a bold symbol of interior organic décor. |
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