Adelina Pedro Martinez is an artist from the town of San Bartolo Coyotopec, a town outside of Oaxaca City whose inhabitants work with a special type of black clay that comes from the mountains. Adelina is one of many artisans from her pueblo who work with this special material. She specializes in figurines decorated in detail and crafted masterfully, using simple tools and techniques to smooth the clay to a shiny texture and create patterns. The pieces are dried for several days before being baked in an underground oven at a low temperature for twelve hours. When the pieces come out of the oven, the brown color of the Iraq clay is transformed into a deep black.
Adelina explains that the process of obtaining the clay and getting to the final product is a process shared by families and the entire community. The men collect the clay from the site, which belongs to the entire community, while the women typically work to make the pieces themselves. The knowledge of how to work with the clay is passed down from generation to generation.
The influence of Zapotec heritage is strong in the village. Adeline draws inspiration for her designs from Zapotec images and her indigenous background.
