Eli Ortiz: Black on Black Mata Ortiz Pottery mata ortiz The beautifully carved dorsal crest

The beautifully carved dorsal crest is painted in gradated hues of orange and golden yellow

Striking one-piece rattlesnake by artist Mario Castellanos

Several Saint Benedict medals hang from the garment

every animal carries a particular energy—its tona—and combining two creatures blends their strengths into a single

it has huge

Eli Ortiz: Black on Black Mata Ortiz Pottery mata ortiz The beautifully carved dorsal crestEli Ortiz keeps the Ortiz tradition alive in black. He is the son of the late Eduardo "Chevo" Ortiz, one of Mata Ortiz's most celebrated potters, and this piece carries that lineage directly. The graphite black on black technique that defines this olla traces back to the Ortiz family itself. Chevo's brother Macario discovered that graphite left on a pot's surface before firing retained its silvery sheen afterward, and what began as an accidental