NEW MEXICO MAGAZINE
Vol.84 No.8 AUG.2006
STORY l-tY CH;\RL[:S BENI{I:TT
PHSTCS BY S]-EVri [-i\RESi:
$P[RHT T[-IE CLAY
Linda Tafoya, of Santa Clara Pueblo, finishes forming a pot at her
home at San llde{onso Pueblo. Tafoya comes from a long line of
respected potters, leaders in Santa Clara carved-black designs.
Her famif y hosts a show this month, Margaret Tafoya Family
Pottery Show: Four Generations, Aug. 18 from 10 a.m. to 5 p'm.
at the Tony Roller Indian Pottery Gallery, 11lz miles south of
Espaffola on N.M. 30, (505) 753-3003. Tafoya may be reached at
(5OS) 927-2877 or Route 5 Box 445-A Santa Fe, NM 87506.
52 NEWMEXICO I AUGUST2006
ORNING WAS SEVERAL HOURS AWAY AS MERTON
STSNNROS
fed the fire outside his home at Santa Clara Pueblo.
Laid directly on the ground, encircled by a low ring
of cinders, the fire bumed down revealing three metal generator
casings on which a metal crate was placed containing frve red-
slipped pots-bottoms up-and one owl figurine. A cookie sheet
was placed on top of the pottery more wood added, the fire
springing to life.
Once the fire burned to the point only an experienced potter
CF
would know, the ring of cinders, mixed bumed wood and horse
manure was shoveled on, smothering the flames and forming
a mound. Additional pulverized horse manute was added. The
smothered frre was left just long enough: lime measured not with
a watch but by custom-"just long enough for a cup of coffee,"
as Merton was taught by his mother. lfhen the pottery was
retrieved, what had been red, unfired pottery was now beautiful
trademark black-on-black Santa Clara pottery, turning black
from the carbon and reduction ofoxygen.
Firing pottery the traditional way is the last step in making
Santa Clara pottery. Clay and sandstone for temper are collected
from long-established sources, then prepared to a certain con-
sistency. The clay is molded by hand or pressed into the inside
fragment of a broken pot. The rest of the pot is then built up
from coils of clay, one on top of another, referred to as the "coil
technique." After the pot is shaped, scraped and smoothed a red
slip is applied: Merton and his wife, Linda, apply seven slip coats.
Stones are used to polish the vessel; Merton's were his mother
Adelaide's. They then paint symbols making their pottery unusu-
a1, passed down through generations of the Sisneros family, such
as triangles, representing stability and three forces of life, and the
favorite of Merton's grandmother Anastacia. There are also the
twin mountains, west of Santa Clara Pueblo; the plant symbol,
respect for green life; avanyu, the water serpent; kiva steps; and
feathers, for the eagle.
Merton began making pottery when he was 7 years old,
recently winning an award of excellence at the Arizona State
Museum's Southwest Indian Fair. He and his wife are full-time
potters, firing every other day and selling at the portal (porch) of
the Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe, sometimes while their
pottery is still warm.
TFIE BIRTFT OF POTTERY
A RCHAEoLocrsrs BELIEVE rur Purelo porrERy TRADITIoN
A{ rs 2,000 years old. The beginning of pottery is linked
n tto th" increase ofagriculture and dependence on corn
and beans. On the Colorado Plateau, where the Ancestral
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 Puebloans developed as a distinct culture, the first pottery was a
crude brownware. About a.o. 600 pottery technology changed
and grayware was made, with stronger walls and greater thermal
shock resistance.
The Ancestral Puebloans began painting their grayware pot-
tery shortly after they started making it. Early decorated grayware
is referred to as black.on.white pottery, and was made at New
Mexico's Chaco Canyon from the 9th century until about 1150,
when it was abandoned. The Chacoans moved into other areas,
including the present Pueblo villages of the Rio Grande.
The historic period of Pueblo pottery began in 1598 with the
Spanish colony at Ohkay Owingeh (San Juan) Pueblo. Pottery
changed as new vessels were made: soup bowls, candlesticks,
chalices and other items, often with new designs. Manure was
used as fuel: less labor-intensive than wood, it enabled more uni-

The I92Os were pivotal for Pueblo pottery: The Southwestern Association on Indian
Affairs (SWAIA), sponsor of Santa Fe's Indian Market, was founded. So were the
tnter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial at Gallup and the Indian Arts Fund Collection.

form firing temperatures. By the middle to late 19th century, pot-

ters began incorporating birds, flowers and abstract designs.
Other events impacted Pueblo pottery in historic times:
The Santa Fe Tiail (1821-1880) introduced commercial kitchen
wares, tin pails and enamelware, taking the place of Pueblo.made
pottery, and the arrival of the railroads to New Mexico in 1880
brought more substitutes for Pueblo pottery along with the first
tourists. Pueblo potters began making souvenirs and smaller
pottery items: bowls with handles, coffee cups, sugar bowls, flower
vases, candlesticks and pitchers, often decorated with minimal
attention to detail. By 1900 very littie pottery was being made for
Native use.
In 1907 archaeological excavations on the Pajarito Plateau
began. San Ildefonso men, including Julian Martinez, worked on
the digs, bringing home prehistoric potsherds to show their wives.
It appears that Julian and Maria Martinez were commissioned to
make replicas of ancient pots at this time. Other village women
also experimented with making traditional pottery again, includ-
ing Ramona Gonzales, Tonita Roybal and Maximiliana Martinez.

THE EARLY YEARS

Linda Tafoya uses simple tools such as gourds, stones,
screwdrivers and fire to create her works of art.
n pRoJEcr INITIATED IN rgrz ro HELI porrERs nnov SaN
I{ Ildefonso improve the quality of their pottery was taken
L Lorrer by the Museum of New Mexico in 1919. In1922, an
annual event-the Southwest Indian Fair-was held, with prizes
for best pottery from nine Pueblo villages, stimulating competi-
tion. Throughout the next several years other villages entered
the fair.
The 1920s were pivotal for Pueblo pottery: The Southwestern
Association on Indian Affairs (S\7AIA), sponsor of Santa Fe's
Indian Market, was founded. So were the Inter-Tiibal Indian
Ceremonial at Gallup and the Indian Arts Fund Collection.
Please see Paee 58

54 NEW MEXICO I AUGUST 2006 www' nmmagazrne.com

SPIRTT OF CI,A3'
Continued from Page 56

After winning prizes Maria Martinez began

signing pieces, in 1925, with other potters
following suit. Other events and institu-
tions also encouraged Pueblo potrers: the
Exposition of Indian Tiibal Arts and the
opening of the Laboratory of Anthropology
(1931) and the federal government's Great
Depression art programs. By 1936 shapes
of Pueblo pottery again changed to attract
buyers: ashtrays, tall-necked vases, cigarette
boxes, pottery animal bookends and jars for
lamp bases.
\il/orld War II and the rest of the 1940s
saw continuing improvement of Pueblo
pottery, but on a limited scale. Many
Pueblo men served in the Armed Forces,
and supporting institutions suffered budget
cuts. By the 1950s, students at Santa Fe
Indian School studied the pottery collec-
tions at the Laboratory of Anthropology.
By the 1960s and 1970s, competition
was keen to produce prize-winning pieces
at shows and markets. Demand for Pueblo
pottery was high, with prices and quality
on the rise, yet more sales opportunities
and exposure were sought. The Pueblos
themselves took the initiative, establish-
ing Oke Oweenge Arts and Crafts Co-op,
Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo (1968), Eight
Northern Pueblos Arts and Crafts Show
(1973), the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center
in Albuquerque, Santo Domingo Pueblo
Arts and Crafts Show (1975) and several
other venues.

A FAMILY AFFAIR
rf-t oDAY PorrERY ls MADE tN ALL

tr ot rhe l9 lueblo villages. Three

I. villages particularly known for
fine pottery are Acoma, San Ildefonso
and Santa Clara. The potters of Acoma
Pueblo, in west-central New Mexico, use
local clay of a consistency enabiing thin-
walled vessels ro which bright white siips
are applied with decorations painted in
black and other colors. Acoma potters use
a variety of designs-parrots, rainbows,
geometrlc pattems and prehistoric motifs.
Some of the famous Acoma potters are
members of the Lewis, Sandoval, Vallo,
Garcia, Aragon, Concho, Chino, Cerno
and Torivio families.
San Ildefonso Pueblo and Santa Clara
Pueblo are along the Rio Grande, north
of Santa Fe. The black-on-black pottery,
developed by Maria Martinez (1887-
1980), featuring alternating lustrous and

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 matte finishes, is a signature pottery for
San lldefonso. Maria's porr"ry is highly
sought by collectors, since she is recognized
today as one of our country's foremo.t ,.t-
ists. Other forms of San Ildefonso potterv
include redware and polychrom. (i*o o.
more colors) vessels, carved and smooth
surfaced and figurines. One innovation
at San Ildefonso is the technique ofset_
ting stones into pieces after firing. San

The smothered fire was

Ieft just lcng enough:
time ffreasured not with
a watch but by custom-
"just long enough
for a cup of eoffee,,,
as Mertsn was taught
by his mother.
Ildefonso porrery dynasties include, besides
the extended family of Maria Martinez,
the family of Blue Corn Calabaza, Iohn
Gonzales, Alfred Aguilar, Eric Suniird and
Russell Sanchez, to name but a few of the
renowned potters ofSan Ildefonso pueblo.
Santa Clara is known for polished
blackware, a style daring at least to rhe
1Zth century. Around 1930, members of
the_ Thfoya family began carving porrery_a
technique requiring thick vessel wails,
with sculpted designs produced by carefullv
carving selected parts of rhe wall of rhe
pot. Many Santa Clara pots have a bear
paw design impressed into them. In recent
times Joseph Lonewolf and others have
developed a low-relief carving technique
cailed sgraffrto. Other potters have
developed nonffadirional designs. Santa
Clara potrers also make ,.d*ui", usins the
same clay as blackware.
Pottery has been produced by the
Puebio peoples for hundreds of years. At
prehistoric sites it is potsherds that sive
archaeologists the clearest record oflheir
activities, movements and contacts with
outside groups. Today pottery is a cuitural
touchsrone, and it will no doubr endure as
a symbol of Pueblo vitaiity and cuitural
identity. @t
Charles Bennett, of T or C, is a bimonthlv
contributor to,,Southwest Bookshelf.,,

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