Josie Méndez-Negrete’s “Rooted in Clay: Verónica Castillo y su arte”

I collaborated as designer, publication consultant and contributing editor on this large-format full-color art history book from Conocimientos Press. Through pláticas, Josie Méndez-Negrete details the origin and craft of clay artist Verónica Castillo. It was a pleasure to celebrate the book’s release with community in San Antonio at Galeria E.V.A.

Event photos by Lupito Conjunto

Rooted in Clay: Verónica Castillo y su arte

AVAILABLE @ BOOKSHOP.ORG + OTHER BOOKSELLERS

Written by Josie Méndez-Negrete
Hardcover | 104 pages | June 2023
Published by Conocimientos Press

---

FROM THE BACK COVER

“Verónica Castillo, a fourth-generation ceramicist from the state of Puebla, Mexico, is a national and international treasure. She inherited one of the most important lineages of Mexican popular art, and she has continued, extended, and revivifi ed the distinguished traditions that were developed by her ancestors. Rooted in Clay: Verónica Castillo y su arte treats her personal artistic journey, from her childhood in Mexico to her engagement with contemporary issues in the present-day United States. Verónica’s story is told with love and insight by Dr. Josie Méndez-Negrete.”
—Ruben C. Cordova, PhD, Art Historian & Curator, Author of Con Safo: The Chicano Art Group and the Politics of South Texas

“Dr. Josie Méndez-Negrete brings us closer to Verónica’s life and legacy. We learn of Castillo’s artistic and political infl uences throughout her life—from growing up as a fourth-generation artist in a family of ceramicists, to her activism with native movements, and her migration to the United States where she dared to step outside la tradición to capture political themes that denounce oppression in all its forms. Rooted in Clay provides a deep appreciation of Castillo’s unmatched creations and her political commitment to social change.”
—Lilliana Patricia Saldaña, PhD, Associate Professor of Mexican American Studies, University of Texas at San Antonio

“Dr. Josie Méndez-Negrete documents the life and work of world-renowned ceramicist Verónica Castillo, unearthing what it means to be an artist that hungers for justice, from the family taller to the community cooperative, from the Zapatistas to the women of Juárez. The artist is both infl uenced by tradition and must break tradition to create a body of work that reflects her vision of the world. Castillo crafts and molds a way of life that honors the Earth by building spaces of collective care and radical imagination. Rooted, grounded, embedded, deep.”
—Virginia Grise, MFA, Award-winning Interdisciplinary Artist & Playwright