Helio Gutierrez

Reflecting cultural influences from Maya, Aztec, and various auxiliary tribes, including the Miskito, Ocanxiu, Nahuatl and Rama, the pottery tradition of Nicaragua dates back thousands of years. 

In Southwest Nicaragua, the small artisan community of San Juan de Oriente emerged as the torch bearer of traditional techniques in the 1970’s.

Spearheaded by elder statesman and local legend Don Gregorio Bracamonte, a renaissance in Nicaraguan ceramic work, produced in the traditional manner, focused on pre-Columbian forms, patterns and motifs. A crucial link between these ancient techniques and contemporary designs was established by his most prized and talented student, Helio Gutierrez.

Gutierrez began his studies with el Maestro as a young boy, completing his apprenticeship in 1986, at age 21.  Bracamonte taught Gutierrez how to tap the sap from the mora tree.  The sap or milk, known as leche de mora, is the base for the pigments long used by native potters in Mesoamerica to decorate vessels.  The preparation of these pigments involves a process of adding natural elements to produce a colorful palette of silky pigments. 

After learning the traditional methods, Gutierrez set out to discover a style that he could call his own.  His creative incorporation of technical innovations, such as embossing in relief and incising (a technique later called “esgrafiado”), with sophisticated geometric patterns, has cemented his status as a master of contemporary Nicaraguan ceramics.