Your Link to Fine Pueblo Pottery
Native American Pottery (continued)
Last updated 10/7/06

Native American Pottery - The Process

One remarkable feature of Pueblo and other Native American pottery is the process of creating it. It is built by hand from local clays, which is harvested from tribal sites and fined for hand-coiling.

 

Coils of clay are built up to form the sides of the pot. Stroking fingers or implements such as stones, gourd shards, pottery shards amd shells are used to thin the walls and draw the clay up toward the top.A second remarkable feature is the polishing and painting of the pot's surface. Slips of thinned, colored clay are wiped on to the surface and, when dry, polished with the patient caress of smooth stones. Many of these stones are passed from one generation of potters to the next. Designs are added by painting different colors of thinned clay slip, traditionally using a split stem of yucca.

Third, is the firing, which traditionally is done with an open fire. This brings into play the random influences of wind and uneven heat. The result can be fire spots or, worse, the complete destruction of a pot into which much work already has been invested.

Native American Pottery - Storytellers and Nativities

Pottery always was used to create animal effigies. In recent years, it has been used as a medium for figures, such as storytellers, and nativity scenes. Storytellers were first created by Helen Cordero, Cochiti. As they became increasingly popular, other potters began to create them. Now, storytellers are created by potters in many pueblos. Similarly, nativity sets, as an extension of the Catholic culture imported into Native America in the 17th and 18th centuries, have become popular subjects for potters in most pueblos. In every case, while these may appear to be simple creations they are achievements of great creative skill and imagination, which is reflected in their prices.

As a footnote, many other tribes have created pots as part of their earliest history. Such prehistoric vessels occasionally come up for sale but they are rarely offered because in recent years these have become the nation's patrimony and are only found on public lands. Taking them and offering them for sale is illegal. Only prehistoric pottery gathered from private land can legally be sold.

The Village of Mata Ortiz
Among the earliest potters were the peoples of Casas Grandes in northern Mexico. For years, their pottery was somewhat crudely produced. At the end of the 20th Century, an equisite pottery tradition began to emerge from the Village of Mata Ortiz in Chihuaha, Mexico.

Under the tutelage and inspiration of master potter, Juan Quezada, a tradition of pottery-making arose hat has grown into the source of some of the most delicate and beautiful Native hand-made pottery. Beautiful, hand-made pottery from many tribal cultures is available through this Web site. Enjoy.

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