A HIGHLY-trained ceramist, nationalised Mexican Mayela Leiva speaks with intense conviction as she describes the physical challenges of working with clay. Though she has been called the ‘Queen of Clay’ in her native Costa Rica, she’s had to rediscover the potential of her media when she came to Guyana eighteen months ago.
At ‘An Exhibition of Ceramics’, which opened at Castellani House last Thursday evening, the artist presented an impressive variety of sculpture, bowls and vases, leaf plates and installations.
“First,” she said, “not all clay used has the same characteristics, and therefore I had to get used to handling the type of clay we get in Guyana. It is clay suitable for turning or throwing, manual techniques of low temperature, and with a lot of iron oxide and plasticity.”
Her supply of clay, originally obtained from the supplier of an artist friend, halted when the vendor stopped selling. But after several months of coming and going, she found new material.
Leiva noted that her work was inspired by nature. “Before coming to Guyana, I lived in La Paz Baja, South California Mexico. It is located in the north of the country. It is a very dry and desert landscape; it seldom rains during the year, and water is scarce.”
Continuing, she said: “Like Guyana, it is warm, and the sun shines every day. There we find a lot of cactus, a variety of clays, diversity of woods eroded by nature… a very good alabaster. All materials inspire me to create my sculpture and pottery pieces.”
She notes that the picture is different in Georgetown, and the rivers, rain, flowers, trees and the sun are now the inspiration for her work. “This work permits me to appreciate the engraving and the printing of leaves on the clay, which emphasises its veins, retaining their shape and making it everlasting.”
Leiva likes to present the different facets of leaves, such as single leaves, curling, flat, long, triangular, oval and with bowl shapes.
In previous exhibitions, the mountains and clouds have been her inspiration. Growing up in places covered by clouds, surrounded by mountains and caressed by the rain, Leiva chose the intense blues and greens inspired by the land for her collection of sculptures.
“For me, this subject has been of great affinity,” she says. “In each sculpture, clouds and mountains have been shaped as I sometimes happened to see them. Each sculpture and every detail that is present in nature, its function, its link, its link with Mankind, remind us that they are a part of the environment that we live surrounded by them, and that we must take care of them for the survival of all.”
Born in Cartago, Costa Rico, Leiva is married to Mexican Consul attached to the Embassy of Mexico here in Guyana, Mr. Jose Castro. She has done many art and ceramics courses under various teachers in Costa Rica, Mexico and the U.S.A.
After completing her first 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 Diseño 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 del 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 (UNAM). She was 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.
Leiva 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 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 runs until October 15 at Castellani House.