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Castillo Family

The Castillo family's artistry has been featured in periodicals ranging from Sunset magazine to The Cincinnati Inquirer.

The Castillo family has many years of experience hand-crafting Talavera-style ceramics in Guanajuato, Mexico. Their workshop seeks to rescue this traditional, world-renowned ceramic style. Although true Talavera ceramics are made only in the city of Puebla, the techniques are also practiced by artisans in Guanajuato. Talavera dates from the colonial period when Spanish priests taught indigenous peoples to craft ceramics using Majolica techniques. Over the centuries, Talavera evolved as a style of its own.

To create this Talavera-style art, native clays of the region are mixed, then liquified and poured into molds. Once the creation is dry – a day or two later – it is removed from its mold and smoothed, then permitted to dry completely for two more days before being fired at 950 degrees Celsius. After firing, the ceramic is submerged into glaze, then left to dry. The design is sketched onto the clay and the outlines and patterns are painted by hand with fine brushes. Finally, the piece is high-fired at 1,000 degrees Celsius to crystallize the colors.

Rocio Castillo comments, "Quality is more important to us than quantity. Each of our creations is handmade with great dedication, beginning with the preparation of our local clay to the impassioned hands of our family and the artisans who assist us."