Skull Dichotomy

Working with traditional Talavera techniques that date back to the 16th century, Puebla artisan Isabelle Collins creates this remarkable skull sculpture. Black and white local clay is cleaned, matured and then kneaded to achieve the proper consistency. Once the pieces are formed, they are dried slowly in unventilated spaces before being fired and glazed. The skull is decorated in two styles; one side has traditional Talavera motifs in cobalt on white, while the other side has a random spatter pattern of black on natural beige.