Marquis Dann Lente
Marquis Dann-Lente is a full blooded Native American Indian. He was born in 1970 and is a member of the Water Clan and a member of the Kachina Clan. He is half Hopi and half Laguna. Marquis was inspired to learn the art of working with clay from Preston Duwyenie from the Hopi Reservation and May Chavez from the Acoma Pueblo. They taught Marquis all the fundamentals of constructing hand coiled pottery using the ancient traditional methods that were passed down from generation to generation. The lucrative aspect of the business was also inspiration for him to learn this unique style of art.
Marquis specializes in hand coiled and hand painted traditional pottery. He gathers his natural clumps of clay and he harvests his raw plants from within the reservation. He breaks down the the clumps of clay into a fine powder form and cleans the clay for impurities. Then, he hand mixes the clay with sand and water to temper the clay. He begins the hand coiling process by rolling the clay into snake like coils and begins building his pottery to his desired shape. Once his vessel has been formed it is set out to dry. He fashions a brush from a yucca stem with his teeth and he boils his raw plants for his desired natural colors to paint his vessels. Once the vessels are dry he sands them for a smooth finish. Then, he begins hand painting his favorite designs such as birds, finelines, rainbow bands, and geometric designs. Finally, he fires his pottery the traditional way, outdoors with cedar chips. He signs his pottery as: Lente, Laguna. He is related to: Floyd Dann, Jr. (father), and Sandra J. Lente (mother).
Marquis specializes in hand coiled and hand painted traditional pottery. He gathers his natural clumps of clay and he harvests his raw plants from within the reservation. He breaks down the the clumps of clay into a fine powder form and cleans the clay for impurities. Then, he hand mixes the clay with sand and water to temper the clay. He begins the hand coiling process by rolling the clay into snake like coils and begins building his pottery to his desired shape. Once his vessel has been formed it is set out to dry. He fashions a brush from a yucca stem with his teeth and he boils his raw plants for his desired natural colors to paint his vessels. Once the vessels are dry he sands them for a smooth finish. Then, he begins hand painting his favorite designs such as birds, finelines, rainbow bands, and geometric designs. Finally, he fires his pottery the traditional way, outdoors with cedar chips. He signs his pottery as: Lente, Laguna. He is related to: Floyd Dann, Jr. (father), and Sandra J. Lente (mother).