I had never even heard of talavera pottery until I saw a Reddit post where someone was showing off one of these jack-o-lanterns. After a little searching, I found that these colorful handmade jacks are becoming more common here in the US.

The talavera pottery tradition in Mexico traces its history back to Spain. It’s said to be a very time-consuming process fraught with the potential for failure at every step. After seeing these, I knew I had to have one.

The beauty in the photo above was made by artist Juana Ponce in Guanajuato, Mexico. An old friend in LA is from that town, so it seemed like it was meant to be. Now that I have it in hand, I can see why these are becoming more popular. They merge the day of the dead aesthetic with Halloween for something entirely new.

If you’re interested, you can find these for sale in lots of online shops, but I’d recommend buying directly from an artist through Novica. Novica.com is a sort of Etsy for artisans in Mexico, Central America, The Andes, West Africa, Thailand, India, Brazil, and Bali. The goal is to allow these talented artists to profit from their own work without middlemen stepping in to hog the proceeds.

Each work is one-of-a-kind, but there may be similar items offered over time. It’s a bit late in the season to get one of these in time for Halloween, but there’s always next year. To see Juana Ponce’s other works, click here.