María de Jesús Nolasco Elías

María de Jesús Nolasco Elías (b. December 8, 1944 - d. 2000) was a Mexican potter from Ocumicho, Michoacán, a town noted for the creation of colorful ceramic figurines.^[1]

She learned the craft from another Ocumicho potter named Marcelino Vicente.^[1]

Her works show imagination, for example the creation of devils emerging from flames, animals devouring each other, images from the life of Christ with indigenous elements and even a representation of the Last Supper, with Jesus eating a watermelon. She also created mermaids, smiling sun faces, portraits of real people and trees of life.^[1]

Nolasco Elías's pieces were both made with molds and by hand, using local clays, polishing dried pieces with a stone.^[1]

Her work was shown at the Museo de Arte Moderno in Mexico City in 1993, as well as at various exhibitions outside Mexico. She was named a “grand master” by the Fomento Cultural Banamex in 2001.^[1]

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