Nicaragua Pottery in the News

Article regarding our space at the Grand Central Holiday Market - NY Times

Article written in the News & Observer in Raleigh, NC before the Artsplosure event

Article recent written in the Hampton Roads bilingual paper recently

935 Miles: Zebulon, NC to Bartlett, IL

We left Friday morning to go to the Bartlett Art Festival, 935 miles we arrive. We were in Detroit at the Royal Oak Clay & Glass show, an awesome festival right outside of Detroit. We had planned to stay up north for the two weekends but between selling so much work at Royal Oak and wanting to go home we ended up driving all the way to the Chicago area on Friday.

We gas prices up so high and the van getting about 13.5 miles to the gallon we had a $450 trip. The festival was pleasant but the attendance was quite low and rain disrupted the festival both days. We did end up selling a fair group of sculptures and the weekend in Royal Oak the weekend before made up the difference.

The mayor of Bartlett presented Luis Gutierrez the Mayors award.

Nicaraguense - The beginning of it all.

Nicaraguense started in Raleigh, NC in October 1998. I had brought some items back from Nicaragua to decorative my friend Chris’s new coffee shop Cool Beans in Oradell, NJ.

I personally opened shop in the weekend flea market at the State Fair Ground in Raleigh, known for its antique exhibitors and collectors. After two successful weekends there I flew back to Nicaragua and started making the alliances that has fueled our business up until today.

My wife Claudia and I would take our daughter Sarah in her little play pen to area flea markets. Sarah is nine years old now and we are still at it.

The significant change occurred when San Juan artist Miguel Maldonado called me from Virginia wanting to sell some pottery he had brought from Nicaragua. I set up an exhibit with a small museum in Wilmington, NC which turned into a demonstration which was very well received and quite successful from a sales perspective.

My first official sponsored artisan visit was in September 2001 with Juan Boza Gutierrez. Arriving from Nicaragua on September 6 one week before the events of September 11th would completely change the landscape. Our events went well and we began to learn the ways of the traveling art exhibit.

Over the past seven years I have organized over 20 artist visits for the Three Generation artists. We have seen the highs and lows associated with market changes, long journeys and mixed results. The one under lying truth of our experience has been the positive reaction of the clients we have served and their contentment with the artwork they have secured from us over the years. Happy customers have supported us time and time again as we continue to build our collector base.

As me and my family prepare to return to Nicaragua on a part time basis I reflect on where we started and where we now stand. So much has changed while the basis of our efforts remain the same…….supply our customers with the most exciting ceramic sculpture possible while elevating the economic security for participating artists and their families.

San Juan de Oriente, Nicaragua

San Juan de Oriente, Nicaragua has a pottery tradition that dates back thousands of years. Originally known as San Juan de los Platos for the plates and traditional cooking vessels that were being crated there.

The rich muddy clay is dug within and around the pueblo and is clearly the reason that the pottery tradition has such strong roots.

The ecological environment around the pueblo is very favorable for indigenous tribes to thrive in the hills above the Laguna de Apoyo.

In the late 70's the community of San Juan de Oriente started to recapture there indigenous art form. International assistance mostly by Spain brought contemporary design and technique to the native traditions.

The work of Gregorio Bracamonte to recapture the lost decorative style of the Nicoya was a defining moment for the community. Many years of experimentation came together an Don Gregorio began to teach community artisans.

The community of San Juan de Oriente now has moved toward a more contemporary style of pottery mixed in with techniques for time gone by. Many of the designs of the pueblo are of Maya, Nicoya and other local ethnic cultures.

The pueblo has gone through an economic renaissance of sorts as over the past 10 years an international market place has opened up for the ceramic arts of the peublo.

Luis Enrique Gutierrez - Nicaraguan ceramic artist

Third Generation Ceramic artist Luis Enrique Gutierrez of the San Juan de Oriente community of Nicaragua is now an internationally acclaimed artisan.

Various trips to the United States representing the work by he and the three generations of his family has elevated the work of his family and community.

A group of Luis' ceramic sculptures can been seen at the Gallery Nica site.

Luis works exclusively with the Nicaraguense group stated by former Peace Corps volunteer Paul Devoti. Luis stays at Devoti's house in Zebulon, NC during visits to the US and the two travel the country participating in art events, university and gallery displays.

Luis demonstrates a post firing technique at his displays that give people an idea of the precision and artistry exhibited in his special ceramic sculptures.

Nicaragua Ceramic Art

Nicaragua ceramic art is getting recognition around the world. Here in the US the master artisans of San Juan de Oriente Nicaragua are bringing the ceramic treasures out of their humble Nicaraguan pueblo for all to see.

I went to Nicaragua with the Peace Corps in 1995. Over the past 10 years I have worked on marketing the indigenous ceramic work of San Juan potters. I 2001 i started organizing artist visits with Juan Boza Gutierrez.

We built our business around the concept of three generations as Juan learned the ceramic tradition from his Godfather Don Gregorio Bracamonte and Uncle Helio Gutierrez. Currently Luis Enrique Gutierrez is participating in a three and a half trip sharing his ceramic art around the country.

We are linking this blog to our website and other pertinent information about Nicaragua and our goal to document the ancient and contemporary Nicaragua culture.