Entrepreneurs in the Service of Beauty: Juan Sanchez

I promised you a few weeks ago that I would search out a potter named Juan Sanchez. His lovely pots were for sale at Huembes Mercado, and I was lucky to find one. Juan’s trademark sytle is distinctive and easy to recognize, although he creates many varieties of vessel forms and additional innovative designs. We have purchased two of his pots, and one of his brother’s, Carlos.

Juan’s notable style consists of swirling geometric patterns, groups of burnt umber triangles in linear, pinwheels and bow-tie formation, intersected by sweeping arcs of deep venetian red. The graceful lines of his surface incised designs complement the varying forms of his vessels, from voluptuously bulbous to pear-shaped to slim and stately.

We had a hard time finding Juan’s workshop, and had to ask 3 or 4 people to point the way. In the end a very nice young man hopped on his bike and led us there. The Sanchez workshop isn’t in the main part of San Juan de Oriente, but on a dirt road to the southwest. To get to the small complex of buildings where the family lives and works, we drove over a field called the "depotivos", that looked like it was used for games, such as soccer (futbal) or baseball.

After finding Juan, we were happy to be able to meet his family – father, mother, sister and brothers. Rosa, his sister was working inside the house, polishing a pot; his brothers, Guillermo and Pedro, were carefully painting and incising the exteriors of several pots. Juan is only 18 years old and looks like a dynamo. He is clearly the main force in the workshop, although his siblings also sign pots in their own name. Juan showed us his kiln and we talked about the possibility of selling some of his work in the United States. He promised to have 2 original designs of gallery quality for us in 3 weeks, so we plan to be back and hope to find some very high quality vessels.

Juan Sanchez and his family are an example of the entrepreneurial energy that abounds in San Juan de Oriente, although the pace of production is slow and careful. We were delighted to finally find Juan and his talented family.