Incredible Mexican pottery from Mata Ortiz!

Mata Ortiz, a town in northern Chihuahua, Mexico (MAP), is justly famous for its world-class ceramic art. Mata Ortiz also happens to be a venue in Distant Cousin: Recirculation. Novels being what they are, photographs are seldom present, but the work of the artists in Mata Ortiz deserves to be more widely known than it is now--that is, mainly by collectors, art galleries, and cognoscenti.

Our extraterrestrial friend Ana Darcy Méndez lives in southern New Mexico, only about 150 miles from Mata Ortiz, and thanks to her in-laws knows it well. She is not a collector but a friend of a friend has collected pieces from Mata Ortiz for years. Here is a representative sample. The small ones below are called "seed pots." (Click any to enlarge; click the X to return.)

What does Mata Ortiz look like?

What do readers say about Distant Cousin: Recirculation?

What other Latin American art does Ana love?

(includes arpilleras, molas, and clothing)

Mexican folk masks

Why would an extraterrestrial love Latin American art? Meet her!

"I love the Distant Cousin characters, they feel like family to me, I am interested in their lives, I worry about them, and I just adore them.  I think I've said this about each book, but I think [Recirculation] is my favorite!  Highly recommended!"

Ana finds a treasury of molas and Mexican art!

You might expect that the first human extraterrestrial woman to return to her home planet (Earth) would be a collector, and that she would be delighted by all the novel things to be found around her and want to keep a selection with her at all times.

If you'd expect that you would be wrong. Ana Darcy does indeed love much of Earth's surprising bounty, but such is her personality that she prefers living simply, and having around her only the most utilitarian, necessary objects for daily life. She loves museums, however, and loves visiting other people who are collectors--which is why she was so delighted to meet the friend of a friend who collects Mexican art, something Ana feels a spiritual connection to.

We have already presented some of the arpilleras, molas, murals, paintings, clothing, and sculpture that Ana has enjoyed to date. Below is a preview of some of the Mexican folk art (and some slightly more formal art) in the collection of her friend's friend. (Click any to enlarge; click the X to return.)

The total collection is astounding. In the near future we will present more of these delightful, imaginative artworks.

Molas! See the mermaid?

Clothing (huipil):

Masks:

Ceramics:

Ana discovers El dia de los muertos

Mexican folk masks

Textile art: Clothing  Arpilleras  Molas

Spanish dichos  (proverbs)

Meet Ana Darcy!

"What a nice surprise Distant Cousin was - quite unique.  It has humor, moves along at a pleasant pace, and the main characters have realistic flaws and faults that I could identify with.  ...I found myself smiling the entire time I was reading it.  There is a subtle wisdom and numerous life philosophies throughout this book.  To sum it up: good story - thoughtful, comfortable, and fun!"

Distant Cousin: Recirculation (DC5): Maps

Two of the locations in Distant Cousin: Recirculation (DC5) (click to enlarge):

What do readers say?

And THEN what do they say?

Meet the extraterrestrial, Ana Darcy!

Distant Cousin: Recirculation (Amazon, paperback)

Distant Cousin: Recirculation (Amazon, Kindle edition)

Distant Cousin: Recirculation: Photos

Photos of pottery from Mata Ortiz

Distant Cousin: Recirculation: Excerpt