Luis Anselmo Ávalos was born in Ajijic 45 years ago. His actual profession is that of industrial designer, although he has been working with clay and ceramics since 1980. His pieces are somewhat peculiar for the forms and characters they display. One can find animal faces, crying masks, nuns, vases and plant pots. The variety in his catalog is quite vast. There is one interesting fact about Luis's work; in it he mixes medias and materials very well. For Example there are clay masks with feathers, ropes, pieces of metal and so on. The same variety is shown in other pieces such as his clay nuns which are first painted and later covered with dresses made of paper maché.
Luis likes to work on pieces with a religious theme. He creates diverse images of virgins and other religious characters. When I spoke to him he told me how much he likes churches.
"When I travel, the first places I visit are the churches. I love seeing the style and the statuettes. I was always interested in knowing how they get those finishes, which lead me to discover new ways for creating different effects on the clay," he explained.
Luis worked for several years in a local production workshop, which sold and exported primarily to the U.S. If some of you have pieces that you bought in stores here at Lakeside around in your house, you might just have a piece molded by Luis Anselmo's hands.
Sometime after he changed companies and started working independently with a friend. They had contracts with a company called Rio Grande, to which they sent pieces to sell abroad.
Luis admits that he likes originality, "I don't like mass production." He said. His pieces are original in the sense that he makes only a couple and then decorates them differently. He can also make custom-ordered pieces to match the décor in your house.
Nowadays, Luis Anselmo has a workshop of his own where he creates all he can imagine. The workshop is located in Ajijic. His pieces circulate around the region as well. He has shown work at El Refugio, where Ute Hagen recently showed a marvelous, 40-painting exhibit. Some of his work has traveled to Panama, the United States, and throughout Mexico.
Something that caught my attention is how Luis conceives his pieces completed before he creates them. That shows a complete creative process. He sketches the pieces and colors in how it will look at the end. He even knows what other materials he will use, like feathers, sticks, and such. When one sees the finished work the results can be quite impressive.
You can find a showroom of objects created by the hands of this man next to El Tejabán Restaurant. It is really part of the same building, and the access for both is through the same immense door. This business is co-owned by Luis Anselmo and Michael, the restaurant's owner.
Michael asked Luis to decorate his new restaurant a couple of months ago and so they started in business before it was even open.
Some of Luis Anselmo's work is also shown on the walls of the restaurant. In the bar there are several masks and on a very large wall there are some wood, cut-out people who seem to be celebrating.
Luis Anselmo handles clay with ease, one can tell by taking a look around his store. Maybe there you will find that exact, indescribable something you didn't even know you were looking for to cover that wall or top-off that table. Why don't you go and take a peek?
You might walk off with the mask that adorns this month's LCR by talented, local artesan, Luis Anselmo.
