Rooted in Clay

<p>Verónica Castillo a fourth-generation ceramic artist from the state of Puebla Mexico is a national and international treasure. She inherited one</p><p>of the most important lineages of Mexican popular art and she has continued extended and revivified the distinguished traditions that were developed by her ancestors. <em>Rooted in Clay: Verónica Castillo y su arte</em> 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.</p><p class=ql-align-justify>Ruben C. Cordova PhD</p><p>Art Historian & Curator</p><p>Author of Con Safo: The Chicano Art Group and the Politics of South Texas </p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>Dr. Josie Méndez-Negrete brings us closer to Veronica's life and legacy. We learn of Castillo's artistic and political influences 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</p><p>United States where she dared to step outside <em>la tradición</em> to capture political themes that denounce oppression in all its forms. <em>Rooted in Clay </em>provides a deep appreciation of Castillo's unmatched creations and her political commitment to social change.</p><p class=ql-align-justify>Lilliana Patricia Saldaña PhD</p><p>Associate Professor of Mexican American Studies</p><p>University of Texas at San Antonio</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>Dr. Josie Méndez-Negrete documents the life and work of world-renowned ceramicist Veronica Castillo unearthing what it means to be an artist that hungers for justice from the family <em>taller</em> to the community cooperative from the Zapatistas to the women of Juárez. The artist is both influenced</p><p>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. </p><p class=ql-align-justify>Virginia Grise MFA</p><p>Award-winning Interdisciplinary Artist & Playwright</p>