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Santa Clara Pueblo Native American Pottery

SANTA CLARA PUEBLO INFORMATION  (Provided by IPCC.org)

Black Pottery from the Santa Clara Pueblo is among the most well-known in the Entire World. Maria Martinez of San Illdefonso Pueblo is arguably the most well known Potter ever to live. She became famous for the Black Pottery tradition that is now carried on by Artists of the Santa Clara Pueblo. Santa Clara Pueblo Pottery has become the most collectible Native American pottery. This incredible art form begins with natural  Red Clays gathered from the pueblos and surrounding hills. The clay undergoes many preparations before it is finally molded into the finished product. The artist generally rolls the clay into long thin rolls, then begins to "build" the piece by layering these rolls one on top of the other. This Hand Coiled method includes smoothing the coils by hand to the pottery's final shape. The artist then begins the arduous task of polishing the piece. This is accomplished by rubbing a smooth "polishing" stone over the piece over and over until the red clay shines. Finally, the piece is fired in an "Oxygen Reduction" firing process. During the firing, the artist smothers the fire with horse manure. The manure traps a thick, carbon rich smoke all around the piece. The Carbon contained in the smoke fuses itself into the clay, turning it Black. This Black color can never be removed or washed off. The entire process is fraught with problems as about 3 of every 5 pieces actually emerge from the fire without damage. Given the rarity of this pottery, artists often view the clay as a living entity. A finished piece is often revered as a gift from what pueblo potters often respectfully refer to as the "Clay Mother". The end result is a stunning piece of Native American Pottery work of art.

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Santa Clara Black Pottery

by Vickie Martinez

Vickie Martinez “Koe-Sawe”, Buffalo Steps, was born into the Pueblo of Santa Clara-Tewa in 1967. Vickie was inspired to continue the long lived tradition of her ancestors of working with clay from her Mother, Barbara Martinez. She has been making pottery since 1983, when she was 15 years old.

Vickie specializes in the traditional handmade black and red Santa Clara pottery. She gathers her own natural clay from the hills within the Santa Clara Pueblo.

Vickie cleans, mixes, hand coils, shapes, carves, fires, and then polishes her pottery the traditional way. Vickie was quoted as saying: “I find carving a very challenging and rewarding experience, which I am enjoying thoroughly.”

Like all good Santa Clara pottery, the high gloss on this pot was achieved by polishing the surface with a smooth stone...a very tedious process. Three and sometimes as many as five layers of slip are applied to the smooth dried work, allowing time between coats to dry, and then followed by a lubricating coat of animal fat. The fat serves two purposes: one, it allows the stone to slide smoothly over the surface and two, it keeps the slip damp. Polishing stones are highly treasured and usually passed on to descendants.

This large piece features the classic Avanyu water serpent design. Vickie signs her pottery as: Vickie Martinez Tafoya, Santa Clara Pueblo.

Size: 5" Tall, 6" wide

Suggested Retail $400.00 / Your Price: $310.00

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SANTA CLARA BLACK POTTERY

by Madeline Naranjo

Madeline E. Naranjo was born in 1971 as a member of the Santa Clara-Tewa Pueblo. She was taught the fundamentals of hand coiling traditional pottery using the methods of their ancient ancestors. She and her husband, Adrian Garcia, were also influenced by many of their family members to continue a long lived family tradition. Julie Gutierrez also had a big impact on their decision to become artisans. Madeline & Adrian have been working together as a team since 1989. They specialize in hand coiling traditional Santa Clara pottery but add their unique contemporary flare. They gather their clay from within the grounds of the Santa Clara Pueblo. They clean, mix, hand coil, shape, etch, polish, and fire their pottery, outdoors with horse manure. The designs they choose to create are those of nature scenes, because of the respect and the love they both have for the planet and all that it has to offer.

This beautiful piece is deeply carved with a sun face on one side with a rain god on the other. Storm clouds surround the rest of the pot. It is signed Madeline E. Naranjo.

 Size: 2 7/8" Tall, 3 1/2" at widest point

Suggested Retail $495.00 / Your Price: SOLD

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SANTA CLARA BLACK POTTERY

by Dolores Curran

Dolores Curran is one of the finest potters in any Pueblo today. This fact was validated in 1993 when Dolores won "Best of Division" at the Santa Fe Indian Market. This means her pot was judged the finest of all the hundreds of pots entered that year. She is the daughter of the late potter, Ursulita Naranjo and the sister of famed minaturist, Geri Naranjo. She was married to the fine San Juan potter Alvin Curran who passed away in 1999. Dolores most typically works in the "cream on red" style. A little known fact is that she must paint each pot at least three times before the designs achieve the required degree of opacity. More information on Dolores Curran may be found in the Gregory Schaaf Book "Pueblo Indian Pottery - 750 Artist Biographies" on pages 18-19.

This piece is signed Dolores Curran and includes the plate stand shown.

 Size: 4 7/8" Wide, 1 3/16" Deep

Suggested Retail $4200.00 / Your Price: SOLD

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Santa Clara Red Pottery

by Vickie Martinez

Vickie Martinez “Koe-Sawe”, Buffalo Steps, was born into the Pueblo of Santa Clara-Tewa in 1967. Vickie was inspired to continue the long lived tradition of her ancestors of working with clay from her Mother, Barbara Martinez. She has been making pottery since 1983, when she was 15 years old.

Vickie specializes in the traditional handmade black and red Santa Clara pottery. She gathers her own natural clay from the hills within the Santa Clara Pueblo.

Vickie cleans, mixes, hand coils, shapes, carves, fires, and then polishes her pottery the traditional way. Vickie was quoted as saying: “I find carving a very challenging and rewarding experience, which I am enjoying thoroughly.”

Like all good Santa Clara pottery, the high gloss on this pot was achieved by polishing the surface with a smooth stone...a very tedious process. Three and sometimes as many as five layers of slip are applied to the smooth dried work, allowing time between coats to dry, and then followed by a lubricating coat of animal fat. The fat serves two purposes: one, it allows the stone to slide smoothly over the surface and two, it keeps the slip damp. Polishing stones are highly treasured and usually passed on to descendants.

This large piece features the classic Avanyu water serpent design. Vickie signs her pottery as: Vickie Martinez Tafoya, Santa Clara Pueblo.

4 1/4" Tall, 5 1/2" at widest point

Suggested Retail $300.00 / Your Price: $265.00

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TURQUOISE POTTERY

by Sam Pacheco and Birdell Bourdon

This incredible piece was hand coiled by Santa Clara artist Birdell Bourdon, then inlaid with bright blue Turquoise by Sam Pacheco of Santo Domingo.

Size: 2 1/4" Tall, 3" at widest point

Suggested Retail $135.00 / Your Price: SOLD

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SANTA CLARA POTTERY

by Camille Moquino

Camille is the daughter of Yolanda Velarde and granddaughter of the late Frances Salazar. She is a talented young artist who has been potting since the age of 7. She signs her work as Camille Moquino, Santa Clara.

Size: 4 1/4" Tall, 4 3/4" at widest point

Suggested Retail $264.00 / Your Price: $198.00

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SANTA CLARA POTTERY

by Alfred Salazar

Alfred started potting at the age of 16 alongside his mother. All of his pots are made in the traditional methods and fired outdoors. His stone polishing is some of the best we have ever seen.

This lovely piece features Alfred's feather design. It is signed Alfred Salazar, Santa Clara.

Size: 2 3/4" Tall, 2" at widest point

Suggested Retail $165.00 / Your Price: $135.00

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SANTA CLARA POTTERY

by Alfred Salazar

Alfred started potting at the age of 16 alongside his mother. All of his pots are made in the traditional methods and fired outdoors. His stone polishing is some of the best we have ever seen.

This lovely piece features Alfred's Sun design. It is signed Alfred Salazar, Santa Clara.

Size:  1 3/4" Tall, 2 1/4" at widest point

Suggested Retail $165.00 / Your Price: $135.00

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TURQUOISE POTTERY

by Sam Pacheco

This incredible piece was hand coiled by Santa Clara artist Birdell Bourdon, then inlaid with bright blue Turquoise by Sam Pacheco of Santo Domingo.

2 1/4" Tall, 3" at widest point

Suggested Retail $185.00 / Your Price: SOLD

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SANTA CLARA POTTERY SEED POT

by Alfred Salazar

Alfred started potting at the age of 16 alongside his mother. All of his pots are made in the traditional methods and fired outdoors. His stone polishing is some of the best we have ever seen.

This lovely piece features Alfred's very popular lizard design. It is signed Alfred Salazar, Santa Clara.

Size: 1 7/8" Tall, 2 5/8" at widest point

Suggested Retail $220.00 / Your Price: SOLD

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SANTA CLARA BLACK POTTERY

by Elaine Salazar

This lovely piece features a very nice polish with a deeply carved Avanyu (Water Serpent) design. It is signed Elaine Salazar, Santa Clara.

Size: 3 3/4" Tall, 4 3/4" at widest point

Suggested Retail $300.00 / Your Price: SOLD

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SAN ILDELFONSO POTTERY

by Nicholas Okuwa-ta Martinez

This beautiful pot was hand coiled and stone polished, signed by the artist.

Size: 3 1/4" Tall, 4 3/4" at widest point

Suggested Retail $220.00 / Your Price: $165.00

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SANTA CLARA TWO TONE POTTERY

by Forrest Naranjo

Forrest Naranjo was born in 1963 into the Santa Clara Pueblo. He was economically motivated to learn the art of pottery making. He began making pottery back in 1986 at the age of 23. He also was inspired to hand coil pottery by his creativity. Forrest specializes in the handmade Sienna style or technique, which the Naranjo family is known for today. The Sienna firing is a color in between that of the traditional black or red, which was started back in the 1960’s and 1970’s. It is now referred to as the Staple style from the Santa Clara Pueblo. Forrest mixes, hand coils, shapes, etches, and fires his pottery the traditional way, outdoors. His etching will include animals, feathers, and many different creative designs which he imagines. He also shapes his clay into bear sculptures, which he is well known for and enjoys making. He signs his pottery as: Forrest or FN. Forrest is related to Bernice Naranjo (mother) and Dusty Naranjo (sister).

3 1/4" Tall, 3 1/4" Wide

Suggested Retail $399.00 / Your Price: SOLD

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SANTA CLARA POTTERY

 by Lois Gutierrez de la Cruz

Lois is an award winning artist from the Santa Clara Pueblo. Working with her husband, Derek de la Cruz, she has helped to revive the polychrome style of decoration which has mostly disappeared from Santa Clara. Lois makes the pots and paints the designs while her husband helps with the firing and finding clay. She paints various designs most often depicting dances or pueblo life. By Combining white with a dark gold clay, Lois has created her own custom slip which fires as a lovely color. Each pot is signed Lois with a cross.

Size: 3 1/2" Tall, 4 1/2" wide

Suggested Retail $475.00 / Your Price: SOLD

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3santaclara14

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Santa Clara Red Pottery

by Vickie Martinez

Vickie Martinez “Koe-Sawe”, Buffalo Steps, was born into the Pueblo of Santa Clara-Tewa in 1967. Vickie was inspired to continue the long lived tradition of her ancestors of working with clay from her Mother, Barbara Martinez. She has been making pottery since 1983, when she was 15 years old.

Vickie specializes in the traditional handmade black and red Santa Clara pottery. She gathers her own natural clay from the hills within the Santa Clara Pueblo.

Vickie cleans, mixes, hand coils, shapes, carves, fires, and then polishes her pottery the traditional way. Vickie was quoted as saying: “I find carving a very challenging and rewarding experience, which I am enjoying thoroughly.”

Like all good Santa Clara pottery, the high gloss on this pot was achieved by polishing the surface with a smooth stone...a very tedious process. Three and sometimes as many as five layers of slip are applied to the smooth dried work, allowing time between coats to dry, and then followed by a lubricating coat of animal fat. The fat serves two purposes: one, it allows the stone to slide smoothly over the surface and two, it keeps the slip damp. Polishing stones are highly treasured and usually passed on to descendants.

This piece features the classic Avanyu water serpent design. Vickie signs her pottery as: Vickie Martinez Tafoya, Santa Clara Pueblo.

Size: 3 3/4" Tall, 5 1/2" wide

Suggested Retail $345.00 / Your Price: $270.00

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