One of the many beautiful sites around Lake Chapala is Villas Buenaventura. This hot spring spa has an art exhibit room in which one can many times find ceramicist, Sergio Cuevas. He is one of the most prestigious artists in the region, and he very kindly shows his work and answers any question. Word by word he unveils the marvelous world of high-temperature ceramics, also known as stoneware.
Ceramics in general are classified in accordance to the amount of heat applied to the pieces.
Low temperature ceramics range from 500º C to 800º C. These pieces are basically molded in clay. They are cooked in an open oven and the result is a rough crackly texture just like a traditional Mexican clay pot. Within this sort of ceramics there are several artistic techniques such as raku, in which mineral salts are incorporated to the paste. These produce unexpected marks and stains that make the piece unique.
Medium temperature ceramics are cooked within a range of 950º C to 1200º C. These temperatures are reached in closed ovens. Commercially, this is the most popular kind of ceramics, often used to make figurines. High temperature ceramics or stoneware is used for both sculptural and utilitarian pieces. The term stoneware comes adjudicated by its hardness, resistance, and refractory properties.
Just like any other activity related to ceramics, artistic modeling starts by preparing the paste. Then the artist's creativity kicks in. The piece must be completely dry before it can be cooked. After the first firing, enamel is applied to the piece. Mixing minerals and deliberately producing changes in the heat and oxygenation inside the oven, different shines, shimmers, colors and textures are accomplished.
Creativity again rules over all elements in the fabrication of each piece and the results can very well be astounding.
For Sergio, art runs in his veins. His grandmother on his maternal side was a very skillful person with her hands. Sergio always felt great admiration towards the work of the Torres family, with whom he maintains a strong friendship. This family was the very first to start clay workshops in the area. Rodolfo Torres, the grandfather was the initiator. Later, Cuevas took some classes on ceramics at the Ajijic Casa de Cultura.
After this and a couple pieces done in wood, he discovers that sculpting is his best form of expression.
In1982 Sergio traveled to Europe, where he took in the classics. From there, he traveled to the U.S. for further study where he is greatly impacted by exposure to modern art. A visit to Pietra Santa, Italy, teaches him the techniques to work in marble and stone. Afterwards, yet another sculpture course in Barcelona, giving him the rounded knowledge he needed to finally become a professional.
Sergio's solid education has flourished in a multi-faceted series of works. With his own hands he creates beautiful vases covered with opaque tones and porous textures, and strange characters that salute us with a glad smile.
Each piece for Sergio is a chance to express his freedom and the joy with which he creates. This is the reason why he denies producing any specific piece ordered by buyers or collectors, leaving us his compilation of unique pieces.
