At the beginning of Unit 3, I knew that I wanted to go back to my own roots, to tell my story as a Mexican American artist. Upon learning that the art of trees of life traditionally comes from a nearby place that my dad is from, I drew inspiration from this type of art onto my unit 3 part 2 work. After discovering how rich in culture, history, and life this line of work truly is, I knew that this also had to be the work to focus on for Unit 4
Background
Trees of life are traditionally from central Mexico, specifically from Izúcar de Matamoros, Puebla, and Metepec. The examples above, like many other, were originally meant to depict the biblical story of Adam and Eve to teach the indigenous people in the early colonial period of Catholicism. Now, they’ve become a fusion of Spanish and Indigenous techniques and design.
Traditional Pieces
Many trees of life can be traced back to 1800-1300 B.C., but most recent depictions have now demonstrated themes of death, spring, duality of life and death, natural world and man, and represent abundance, fertility, story telling, and growth.
The most traditional trees of life are made with terracotta clay, decorated with religious images of God towards the top of the sculpture and other relating images. Many of these pieces depict flowers, birds, leaves, fruit, figurines, miniature ceramic pieces, and more. The more intricate and decorative they become, the longer they can take to produce. Typical pieces are between 26 to 60cm long, and can range from 2 weeks to three years to create.
The Soteno Family and Tiburcio Soteno
One of the most prominent families known for their trees of life in Metepec is the Soteno Family. Many generations have learned the craft of creating extremely decorative and intricate trees of life, but one of the most notable family member is Tiburcio Soteno (1952-2022), second generation artisan who has won many awards and has had his artwork in collections worldwide. Like his uncle, Oscar Soteno (b. 1970) was also known for his trees of life that display an array of stories with his unique style.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soteno_family#References
Alfonso Castillo Orta (1944-2009)
Castillo Orta was a Mexican potter from Izúcar de Matamoros, Puebla whose trees of life became internationally known and received many awards for. As a fourth generation potter, he learned the craft through the past generations and experimented with creating more decorative pieces and creating his own style. He became the center of popular art in Izúcar de Matamoros, Puebla, what is known to be one of the pottery centers of Mexico.
Personal Connection
My family is from Mexico, my dad from Tlaxcala, and my mom from Hidalgo. Both states are close to central Mexico, where Puebla and Metepec are not very far from. Going to Mexico many times during my childhood made me feel very connected to my ethnicity and my roots. Mexican pottery has always been such a rich part of the country and its culture, and while growing up I was always surrounded by the art. Now being able to create art similar to traditional Mexican pottery and work with similar clay, I feel more connected than ever before.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_of_Life_(Mexican_pottery)