Fulgencia Garcia Lopez; Created Lladro Sculptures

Fulgencia Garcia Lopez, 79, known as Garcieta, the artist who created the popular porcelain Lladro sculptures. Juan Lladro, president of the Spanish company, said Garcieta was the first to recognize a trend toward decorative rather than functional ceramic objects. The artist started making the figurines of people and animals in muted colors that are now recognized and sold around the world. Garcieta spent most of his 40-year career at Lladro directing a school that trained young artists to make the porcelain statuettes. Born in Valencia, Spain, the sculptor and poster artist studied at the San Carlos School of Fine Arts and in 1945 won a prize at the National Exposition of Fine Arts. On Wednesday in Valencia, Spain, of a cancer.