Michael Wisner on Ceramics and Meditation

Colorado artist Michael Wisner studied with Juan Quezada in Mata Ortiz, a small town in Mexico, now famous as the home of over 300 ceramic artists taught by Quezada. As a young boy, Quezada discovered pots painted by his ancestors, the Paquime Indians, and “reinvented“ the technology to create ceramics from the materials of the land. Michael Wisner carries on the tradition, creating coiled pots from clay he finds in the wild, cleans, and coils into fine art pieces. Unlike many traditions to “copy“ the pattern and style of the culture, Quezada – and Wisner – believe in “inventing“ one’s own style while also using ancient technology. And so, over 20 years ago, encouraged by the philosophy of his mentor, Wisner asked himself, “What can I do to stand on the shoulders of the people I’ve learned from and try to do something new?“ He decided to continue the tradition of using native clays, natural colors, and the hand building process, while contemplatin