 
Navajo Pottery
This Navajo pottery is handcrafted by the Navajo Indians on the
Navajo Indian reservation in New Mexico and other local reservations.
Talent and love of the craft is evident in each hand carved piece of
this Navajo Pottery. The materials used come from the earth. Each piece
is a unique, one of a kind, irreplaceable piece of art. No two pieces
are the same. Artist bio cards available upon request. |
Mata Ortiz Pottery
In northern Chihuahua, Mexico seems to be the place to find artistic individuals.
Juan Quezada, the originator was discovered back in 1976. The entire pueblo of
Mata Ortiz creates outstanding handmade, coiled pots or ollas, following centuries
of old methods. Inspired by the Paquime, Casas Grandes ceramics, the potters of
Mata Ortiz create contemporary works of art, often including Mimbres designs
shared by the Southwest, Native American cultures.
With an olla as their canvas,
the potters of Mata Ortiz use not only recreations of ancestral symbols, but they
have searched within their own spirit and creativity and have been able to conceive
a unique artistic language, creative and original. They are said to have gone through
the imitation of pre-Hispanic ceramics, and have moved on to a sophisticated creation
of contemporary art. The village is said to have over 300 to 400 potters--that
pride themselves on following Juan Quezada's general style and they measure
their success against how far they can take their own style and still
produce credible work.
Raw clay and pigment for the pots and paints is collected from the rich
deposits found in surrounding hills and valleys. The potter's hands form the
pots, the hair of children is used to make the paint brushes, and the firing
is done in the back yard with wood and cow dung as the fuel.
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Horse Hair Pottery :
Horsehair pottery is a Native American art form that dates back years.
As its name implies, it is made by using hair from the tail & mane of the horse.
The actual process is considered a secret to the artist, the following is a brief
description of the steps taken to complete this work of art. The pottery is fired
for a certain time, taken out & horsehair is added (burned in). Fine lines are
created with the hair from the main & the thick lines are created from the hair
of the tail. Fired again then taken out & smoked, this adds tone & hue to the pottery.
The piece is fired & at this very crucial stage, artist must decide when to take it out
for cooling. If the timing is off the pottery will be too brittle to etch. The piece is
then rock polished, no paint or glaze is used.
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Acoma Pottery :
Acoma "Sky City" in New Mexico is one of the oldest continuously occupied cities in North America. For a thousand years, the people of Aak'u, which has been translated from Keresan as "mesa top" & also as "a place prepared," have been making pottery--vessels of everyday life, of ritual, & of great beauty. During the 17th century, potters developed the matte-painted polychrome style, which continues today. Pottery making is learned by children from their parents & grandparents, is passed on from one generation to the next. In one family, grandmother, mother, uncle, cousin, grandchild may all be potters. Since before 1600, jars for carrying & storing water (duu'ni), have been made at Acoma, decorated with elaborate polychrome geometric, rainbow, bird (often a parrot or macaw), & floral motifs. Other forms include grain storage jars, seed jars, dough bowls, serving & food bowls, pitchers, & canteens. Since the late 1800s, the double-spouted wedding vase form has been popular. Today, potters also make storytellers, figural vessels, such as turtles, owls, and frogs, and pots with a twin-headed rainbird motif. These figural vessels continue traditions of pottery styles that are a thousand years old. Designs on traditional Acoma pottery include polychrome rainbow bands, birds (parrots or macaws), deer (adapted from the Zuni deer motif, with the distinctive "heartline"), black or dark brown & white abstract stylized adaptations of ancient Anasazi, Mogollon, & Mimbres ware (including geometric shapes, spirals, stepped forms, clouds, dragonflies and butterflies--which are water and rain images). The ancient geometric patterns were developed into the dazzling fine-line designs, which began to appear in their contemporary form in the late 1940s. Hatching symbolizes rain, stepped motifs represent clouds, double dots stand for raindrops, and other symbols stand for mountains, lightning, & thunderclouds. These designs speak of life-giving water, fertility, the life cycle, earth and sky, and the interrelationship of all phenomena. Pottery making at Acoma, like elsewhere, is changing. In digging the clay, grinding it, blending it with temper, forming & smoothing it by hand, preparing the pigments, & painting the designs, the potter speaks with the clay, & the clay answers.
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