Fábrica Taller Cerámica Artística J.A. Froilan

Juan Antonio Froilan Oviedo
Owner, Fábrica Taller Cerámica Artística J.A. Froilan
Talavera de la Reina, Spain
Photo by Robin Farwell Gavin, 2000

Juan Froilan was born in Extremadura, and was introduced to ceramics when his family moved to Talavera when he was just 10. After working in a local taller alongside his father and taking some classes in painting, in the mid-1980s he and his wife María opened Fábrica Taller Cerámica Artística J. A. Froilan. They recently purchased the contents of the historic El Carmen ceramics factory, originally established in 1849 to revive mayólica production in Talavera, which had been closed for several decades. They hope to put together a small museum in their taller with their collection of historic pieces and drawings to encourage interest in this local artistic patrimony.

Santa Catalina Cerámica Regional

Pedro de la Cal Rubio (D.2000)
Owner, Santa Catalina Cerámica Regional
Puente del Arzobispo, Spain
Photo by Robin Farwell Gavin, 2000

Pedro de la Cal is credited with reviving the ceramics industry in the town of Puente del Arzobispo. His grandfather and father were both potters and he was instructed in the art at an early age. In his youth, he would go into nearby areas to collect plants and minerals for his pigments, which were then prepared in the courtyard of his house, and ground and mixed in a mill that was powered by a donkey. Greens and yellows predominate in his artwork in a style that was characteristic of ceramics in Puente in the late 18th and 19th centuries.