Tzintzuntzan, Michoacán

Her name is Martha Chicipan Cuiriz. She is 47 years old and originally from the Indigenous community of Tzintzuntzan, Michoacán. She has been an artisan for as long as she can remember. She learned the craft from her paternal grandmother and her parents.

As a family, they work with lead-free glazed pottery and white earthenware. Her specialty is burnished pottery (alfarería bruñida). Together, they have helped revive a very ancient form of pottery. The designs they use come from cultures that existed more than 450 years ago, and whose ruins can still be found near their village.

The clay they use is a communal resource, collected from the top of a nearby mountain range. The pieces are fired in a wood and adobe kiln and can take anywhere from 5 to 12 hours to complete.

Thanks to her work in burnished pottery, she has been recognized at the national level, receiving national and special awards. She is passionate about her craft and feels proud to be an artisan, as each piece she creates carries a part of her life.