The much-admired "flag pottery" of Tonalá, Jalisco, takes its name from its three colors: green, white and red of the Mexican flag. Florentino Jimón Barba, who grew up in a family that has been making tri-colour pottery for more than 50 years, began handling clay as a child. 

He is a master potter and is one of the artists published in the book "Grandes Maest-ros del Arte Popular Mexicano" (Great Masters of Mexican Folk Art).  The artist extracts his clay from deposits near Tonalá. At his home the pieces are broken, ground to powder and sieved to remove impurities. Water is added and the mixture is then left to "ferment" for several months.

Some of Florentino's pieces are made in molds and others by hand. When they are dry, they are smoothed with stones and covered with a full coating of pigment to seal the pores and to provide a background color. They are then decorated with 'palmetto' decoration.

For this step, paints are made by mixing the clays with earth pigments. For the white on his vessels, Florentino uses an earth pigment called hue, which over time gives a grayish tone. The pieces are given a final polish with tallow and then fired in an open kiln.

Florentino's beautiful work has won awards all over the world. Feria Maestros del Arte is proud to welcome him.

florentino.jimon@hotmail.com

Matamoras 110, Tonalá

333 690 7442