Mex-Art Pottery: High-Fired Tonalá Ceramics for Bold Container Gardens

Near San Diego's Old Town, Mex-Art Pottery & Home Accents offers pottery distinct from typical Tijuana terra-cotta. Owner Diane Salisbury sources most pots from Tonalá, Jalisco, Mexico.

Patterns surprise: fleur-de-lis, basketweave, tropical motifs (pineapples, bamboo). Mottled finishes—dark reds, greens, browns—achieved by rag-painting multiple shades for a bold, contemporary look. Standard Mexican pot plants (cactus, succulents, bougainvillea, geraniums) look freshly original in these containers.

The real difference is invisible: "Tonalá clay is very dense," says Salisbury, "and all these pots are high-fire kilned. So they stand up to the elements very well."

Talavera majolica ceramics are also a specialty—tiny herb pots to ginger jars.

Info: Mex-Art Pottery & Home Accents, 1155 Morena Blvd., San Diego.