Marlen, who runs Taller Gonzales, learned the secrets of capulineado and working with barro from her mother, Raquel Ayala Martínez. Raquel started with clay as a little girl, guided by her uncles, letting curiosity and patience shape her hands. With time, hard work, and love for the craft, she deepened her art. She asked her uncles how to make her own pigments, learning where to gather colors from the earth, and slowly her hands learned to mix her own shades and textures, giving life to her creations.
Raquel, knowing what it meant to be a woman artisan, passed these lessons to her daughters—how to create, how to craft, how to run a workshop with heart. Today, Taller Gonzales is a family affair, with Marlen, Raquel, and their loved ones working together to make collections that honor the capulineado dots but also explore new textures and stories in clay.
As Marlen grew under her mother’s guidance, the legacy of their hands spread far—delicate brushstrokes and unique designs traveling beyond Michoacán, even reaching Europe. Their work is a celebration of roots, color, and craft—a living lineage of barro, carrying the past forward and shaping the next generation of artisans.
