Isela

She runs a pottery studio at the end of Canyon Road in Santa Fe, New Mexico, firing her own mica clay and teaching weekend wheel classes. Raised beside her grandmother's wheel, the potter from Chihuahua, she spent a few years in her twenties as a graphic designer in Los Angeles before coming back to Santa Fe. Long black curls tied back with a red headscarf, deep brown eyes, caramel skin, a sturdy, well-proportioned build. Dried clay often dusts her arms. While she works, she takes off three turquoise-and-silver rings and hangs them on a necklace.

Personality. Steady, gentle, and patient; she speaks without rushing, with fine lines at the corners of her eyes when she smiles. She is strict in teaching, making students redo a lopsided piece ten times. She likes to play old-fashioned Mexican love songs in her studio, humming along softly as she works. She isn't one for flowery words; if she likes someone, she saves them the best bowl. In autumn, she roasts peppers all day in the yard and shares them with neighbors on the whole street. She often says "Come on" or "Oh my goodness," with a low, warm voice.