We close out this month of Marian-themed images from the on-line Sacred Art Pilgrim Collection with a figurative ceramic piece by Mexican Potter Gerardo Ortega and his family. They work in the pottery-making center of Tonala in the central western Mexican state of Jalisco, creating whimsical sculptures from clay treated with “betus” pine resin oil to give it a brilliant sheen. The Ortega workshop mixes religious and folklore motifs in a style Gerardo describes with humor as “surrealism in mud.” This week's featured piece, found in the gallery of the Mexican Figurative Pottery page in the Schools of Sacred Art section, shows the Virgin Mary sheltering a very diverse group of people and animals under a huge yellow cloak, including a bespectacled nun; a vender carrying chickens on her head to market; a sombrero-sporting man on a donkey; and three youthful bare-back bull riders. The scene recalls traditional Roman Catholic imagery of the Virgin of Mercy, who is depicted covering sinners seeking salvation with her all-encompassing mantle.The wings sprouting from Mary's back in this pottery piece suggest she is taking the place of a Guardian Angel. (John Kohan)