Very interesting, as your pics always are. I've been to the pyramids at Chichen Itza, as most every visitor to the Yucatan has, lol. I saw a special on the history channel about the pyramids of the ancient cultures there and the abandoned cities. I'm sure scientists are just really scratching the surface on their cultures and there are many things to learn of it yet. Can you tell me which volcano this is near? Didn't you have a set of pictures last year about brick making? Now, I guess you know I have to google Puebla to learn more about it. Thanks for posting this and looking forward to seeing the rest of it when it goes up!

Hi, calliope The volcanoes are: Popocatepetl and Pico de Orizaba, the latter is referred to as "the magic mountain." The former is quite active, belching ash and smoke quite frequently.

And, yes, I did do bricks last year. This trip was to apprentice to talavera potters. Only pottery made in Puebla can be called "talavera." There are 3 gov't certified talavera pottery workshops in Puebla: Celia, Armando and Uriarte, the most famous. They use traditional colors, and methods. Other pottery makers don't necessarily collect their own clays, or grind their own minerals for the colors.

We spent 1 day working with the potters at Armando, learning how they crushed minerals, mixed clay, made their own horse-hair brushes, threw pots or used molds, painted, and fired the pieces. Our first attempts were disasters, but the artisans were kind.

Then we spent 5 days learning how the potters and artists did it at Celia's, and working with them, too. Working at what looks so easy, but isn't, gave us a great appreciation for the artists', as well as a better understanding of pre-Columbian potters. Fascinating. My pieces will never win prizes, but it was great fun!

I'll try to get the pictures up next week. I think my next foray into "crafting" might be weaving in Oaxaca. ;) See, I have no artistic talent (remember my hot glass paper weight?) but really enjoy learning the mechanics of how crafts are done.

I saved looking at this until I had some time to let it all sink in. I love your photos and the information you always give us. I have a newer respect for archeological digs after those I saw in Crete this fall. I would really like to see these pyramids as well as those in Egypt. They have always appealed to me on some kind of gut level...very mysterious.Weaving I think would be a very gratifying experience,especially with those rich jewel tones you see in the Spanish speaking countries.

Wonderful. My favorites are the views of the valley with the volcano in the distance. What an interesting trip it must have been. I'm looking forward to seeing the results of your efforts.

If you want to have a hand at spinning alpaca wool - there's a place nearby that offers demonstrations and classes. That way you can learn how to clean and spin the wool before you head down to do some weaving. HA.

These are great are you coming to Pacific Mex in the next couple of months? Email me. I willpost the story of my pyramid search soon.

I've enjoyed your photos and envy the experiences you are having. The colors of the murals are so vibrant ...amazing after all these centuries.

And what fun to work with the pottery workshops. I wholeheartedlyy agree that attempting almost any handcraft brings a great deal of satisfaction even though my efforts too are amateur in execution...but most of all it brings a deeper appreciation of the real artisan's work. Will look forward to learning of your further adventures....josh

Fascinating! What is the blue pigment? Would it be lapiz as in Italy? Does it have a significence as in Italian Rennaisance art?
And what's with the "Venus"? Or do you mean their revered female deity? I thought Venus was a Roman godess?
Sorry to be a questioner...but in my mind one thing leads to another.
Linda C

Venus, as is the planet, sometimes called "the morning star," Linda. What makes the Mayan blue? Well, Gettens in American Antiquity, wrote:

"The early peoples of Southern Mexico decorated pottery and painted pictures on walls with a stable blue pigment which is not found elsewhere in the world. Investigation of this blue was started over 30 years ago, but still the true nature of the blue color principle is unknown. Since the blue cannot be destroyed by boiling nitric acid, it does not seem to be vegetable or organic in origin. It is quite unlike azurite or natural ultramarine or other blue minerals which were employed as sources of blue pigment by other ancient peoples. The main obstacle in the investigation is the extreme scarcity of research material."

Good questions.