Mexican artist to highlight Guyana’s beauty in clay
PRODUCING beauty from materials that surround her, it is important to nationalized Mexican sculptor and ceramist, Mayela Leiva Ulloa that she does not damage the environment.
Thus when her neighbours trimmed their trees recently, it was a perfect opportunity for her to get some new materials to work with.
And with the addition of detailed ceramic leaves, the branches became ten little trees representing Guyana’s ten Administrative Regions.
Born in Cartago, Costa Rico, Ulloa is married to Mexican Consul attached to the Embassy of Mexico in Guyana, Mr. Jose Castro. She has done many arts and ceramics courses under various teachers in Costa Rica, Mexico and the U.S.A.
After completing her first set of studies in the arts at the Casa del Artista in San Jose, she read for a degree in the Plastic Arts, specialising in ceramics at the Universidad Rodrigo Facio in Costa Rica. She was awarded the Lincoln-Juarez scholarship by the government of Mexico.
She later continued her studies at the University of Guanajuato in ceramics, precious metals, art history, contemporary art, Mexican Art and Mexican Popular Art.
At the Instituto Allende in San Miguel Allende, she studied fabric painting and the history of Art and Literature.
After getting married and residing in Mexico City, she continued to study at the Escuela Nacional de Diseno y Artesania where she continued her studies in ceramics and fabric painting while simultaneously studying for a  Masters degree in sculpture from the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plasticas  de San Carlos, Universidad National Autonoma de Mexico.
In Chicago, she attended The School of Art Institute of Chicago on Lillstreet Art Centre and studied porcelain, wheel throwing, sculpture and techniques applied in ceramics such as screen printing.
She has taught Fine Arts and Ceramic courses at the University of Costa Rica, the Technological Instiute of Costa Rica, Las Cas derl Artisa in Cartago among other institutions. In Mexico, she was a teacher at the plastic experimentation workshop for Masters Students of the Academia de San Carlos, U.N.A.M. She was also the official professor of the Industrial Design course, CYAD at the Universidad Autonoma Metropolitan of Mexico, and was also invited by the University of Costa Rica to give an intensive ceramics course to the ceramics students.
At the University of Lisboa, she taught ceramics courses for children.
Ulloa has conducted seminars on techniques employed in ceramics and glazing at the Escuela Nacional de Artes de Puerte Principe, Haiti where she also taught special courses on design ceramics and sculpture to Haitians and students of other nationalities.
She also taught a special course on ceramics in Algeria. In Egypt, she gave ceramic courses to children and courses on Pre-Hispanic ceramic techniques to the Diplomatic ladies of Egypt. 
She has participated in individual and group exhibitions  in galleries and museums in the US, Costa Rica, Egypt, Haiti, Mexico, Algeria and Portugal.
The exhibition will be launched on Thursday at 17:00 hrs at the National Art Gallery, Castellani House.