It all began in 2002 when the San Antonio Museum of Art held its extensive exhibition on William Spratling and the silver masters of Taxco, Mexico. The show was stunning, and re-awakened my appreciation for the artistry of the Taxco silver masters. I not only realized that I had several very good pieces of Mexican silver at home in my jewelry box, but also discovered that my favorite designer was and continued to be Sigi Pineda.

Although Sigi never worked for Spratling (he was much younger — currently in his 70s), he and Spratling became friends after Sigi won the prize in Spratling’s Silver Festival. Sigi is now the sole surviving member of the famous silver masters.

I hurried home to reassess my treasures and reacquaint myself with Taxco silver. I began with the catalog of the exhibit — William Spratling and the Mexican Silver Renaissance. Penny Morrill was guest curator for the exhibit and also coauthored the definitive book Mexican Silver with Carole A. Berk. These resources and the Internet helped me to learn about various silversmith methods and techniques, and I began to recognize some of the more famous designs.

I learned that, unlike many of the Taxco silver artisans, Sigi’s style was always modernist. His shapes do not hearken back to earlier designs or remind one of pre-Columbian glyphs. Instead, they are minimalist and simplify an idea or an object to its most basic representation.

I made myself a promise — I was going to Taxco to meet Sigi Pineda.

Through the folk art association called Los Amigos del Arte Popular (LAPAD), I met Carmen Armstrong. She was exploring ways to work with Taxco artisans to sell both vintage and high quality new jewelry. We talked about a trip to Taxco for the annual Silver Festival, a continuation of the festival that William Spratling began. It is held from the last weekend in November to the first weekend in December.

Being a member of LADAP had taught me that the artisans of Mexico graciously meet with interested visitors. I told myself that Sigi Pineda would be far too cordial to rebuff this crazy lady from Houston, and I began making travel arrangements. Meanwhile, Carmen asked the owner of the bed and breakfast where we would be staying in Taxco (the owner was a niece of the famous master silversmith Antonio Castillo) to help make introductions.

As I arrived, I was greeted with “Sigi will pick you up at 8:00pm!” I was really going to have dinner with Sigi Pineda!

For one thing, he loves women. I didn’t really know that before we met him, but it is obvious the moment you meet this charming, flirtatious man. Suddenly, I understood that the source of his beautiful jewelry was his sincere love of women and making beautiful objects for them.

Sigi speaks wonderful English and we visited for hours. We made arrangements to meet Sigi in two days for breakfast at his home. I was going to see his current work and to explore his drawings for other ideas. I felt like a child on Christmas Eve — too excited to sleep!

In the days before our breakfast meeting with Sigi Pineda, Carmen and I explored Taxco and the surrounding area. There are shops everywhere. Although there is an abundance of silver, the work being done today would break William Spratling’s heart. The apprentice system Spratling instituted has died, and the quality and mastery once heralded throughout the world is now missing from much of the work.

Older masters often work at home at the family’s kitchen table. Many of these men are in their 80s and the treasure of their skill and knowledge is likely to be lost. With Marta Castillo (our hostess) as a guide, we struggled up the steep Taxco lanes to meet the masters.

We found that, for various reasons, some of the molds of the famous silver jewelry designers were given to the silver artisans. For instance, Margot de Taxco ended up owing her workers money and gave them molds instead of cash. Some of these same men are still making pieces from the molds and designs from Spratling, Aguilar, Castillo and Antonio Pineda.

You can go into a shop and see a famous Sigi design and be told that it is indeed a Sigi design, but it is not signed — it is also not authorized! The same is true of Antonio Pineda’s work. Antonio no longer produces any work but he can sometimes be found in his office off the Zocalo. Although he does not speak English, Carmen was able to visit with him and learn that the expensive bracelets and other pieces we were seeing in the shops with a mark that looked like Antonio’s crown were not authorized. He is suing to get them taken off the market, but will probably not succeed. Marks can be copied and reproduced by machine.

Two mornings later, we sat at Sigi’s kitchen table and after a wonderful breakfast we touched and tried on jewelry to our heart’s desire. We began to get to know Sigi and to hear stories about Spratling and Taxco and all of the gossip that still swirls around.

Sigi has worked with silver many years. At age 10, Sigi began to work as an apprentice — at 12, he began to work with Antonio Castillo. Three years later he was a master silversmith. He then traveled and worked in Puebla and Mexico City, learning something new wherever he went.

Sigi told us about returning to Taxco and working for Margot de Taxco — he was only 19 years old at the time. At first he was a Master, but after six months he realized that Margot was attempting to make enamel pieces. She had been working in secret to keep the idea safe but was having little success. Sigi accidentally discovered the enamel work. Imagine her surprise when Sigi told her he had learned to do enamel while working in Mexico City. He had worked in gold and translated the technique to silver and so began Margot’s famous enamel jewelry.

He became the manager of her entire workshop. I asked how such a young man could get the older men to do his bidding and he explained that the manager of the workshop recruited and trained the men — he basically controlled the operation. Margot did designs and Sigi created jewelry.

Then, at age 23 (after four years with Margot), Sigi opened his first shop. Through the years he had shops not only in Taxco, but also in Mexico City and San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato. His mark included the word TASCO — the intentional misspelling reflects Sigi’s sense of humor. He says that is the way Americans pronounced it.

In the mid 1970s, Sigi was severally injured in an automobile accident. It was months before he could get out of bed and two years before he could walk around Taxco.

Sigi’s current work is mostly done using the lost wax method. It is solid and substantial. Several pieces were cleverly constructed so that one necklace became 4 necklaces. Pins could become pendants or become part of a necklace. The work has always been simple and has often focused on the layers of silver casting. He often uses niello, a black metallic alloy of sulphur, copper, silver and lead used on metal to darken areas.

Several of Sigi’s pieces also include wood. Carmen commissioned a remarkable necklace of silver and wood. It is an elaborate piece that comes apart to become two pins. The wood is used to form the bodies of two doves in the center of the piece. It is not a piece of jewelry for the shy, but for someone who wants to make an entrance! The silversmith who creates the piece also does the wood shaping and fitting. The flow between the elements is important and needs a master’s hand.

In addition to his jewelry, Sigi’s drawings were a surprising delight. I was unprepared for the beauty of the sketches. After Sigi sketches a piece, it is given to the artisan, who makes the wax form for the mold. This worker must understand the artist’s intent and be able to interpret a drawing into a three dimensional form. After the form meets Sigi’s approval, it can be cast and a mold made. The wax is melted and forced out of the mold using a centrifuge. Then, molten silver is poured into the mold. When the mold is opened, there is a rough piece of jewelry;

it is up to the artisan to finish the piece into something beautiful. Although the mold may be used again, no two pieces will ever be exactly the same because they depend not only on the mold, but also on the silversmith’s expert hands.

Looking to the future, Sigi is creating a series of enamel works and continuing to show in galleries and museum shops in the US. His dream is to establish a school to train young silversmiths to pass the skills of the masters to a new generation.

Taxco is a wonderful place to visit. Most people come to Taxco on a day trip from Mexico City – arriving and leaving quickly. If you can, stay, wander the steep streets and get to know the people. The zocalo is wonderful and full of life; you can visit the Spratling Ranch and the Castillo Ranch. Obviously, you can shop. And shop. And shop.