José Bernardino Barajas Rivera

Artes de cerámica - Pottery 

Santa Fe de Laguna, Michoacán, Mexico

​

José Bernardino Barajas Rivera was born in 1969 in the town of Santa Fe de la Laguna, a Purhépecha village in Michoacán, Mexico, where he has lived all his life.

Bernardino comes from a long line of clay workers. These days, he works with barro (low fire), but has also worked with cerámica, high fire. Bernardino started working with clays at about 14. He has taught classes at CDE and has worked with Casa de las Artesanías to improve kiln quality.

The clay in Bernadino's pieces is 100% red clay, low fired. All pieces are made by hand using the coil method. His glazes are engobe glazes, all made from same earth he uses for the clay pieces. There is no lead in the glazes. All of his firings are with wood kilns.