Pueblo Pottery

4 1/2" high by 6 1/4" dia. $1400.

A nativity set by famous Santa Clara Pueblo artist Autumn Borts. Shaped with traditional Santa Clara clay, beautifully polished and fired outside in the traditional manner with a wood fire, this set was done in 1989 and is from my own collection. The tallest figure is four inches high. Autumn Borts, whose mother is Linda Cain and granddaughter of Mary Cain, is from the famed Tafoya family. She has won many awards for her pottery.

This set is $450.

SOLD

Madona and child by Linda Cain from Santa Clara Pueblo. An exquiste piece by this famous Santa Clara Pueblo artist.

3 inches high.

$375.00

SOLD

Rose Chino Garcia

Approximately 50 miles to the southwest of Albuquerque, New Mexico, high atop one of the many mesas that dot the landscape, is the Pueblo of Acoma. The silence is breathtaking. In the winter the pungent odor of pinon and juniper smoke fills the air as fires crackle in the fireplaces that heat the homes. The village has no electricity and no plumbing. Evidence suggests continuous habitation for nearly two thousand years. Examples of Anasazi pottery dating from 200 AD have been found at Acoma, indicating a rich heritage of making pottery. With few exceptions, for the people who live at the village such as Rose Chino Garcia and her daughter Tena, life goes on much the same as it was when Francisco Vasquez Coronado and his spanish soldiers came riding over the horizon in 1540.

The arrival of the Spanish, the Pueblo revolt of 1680, the coming of the Americans and later the railroad, all brought changes of shape and design to Acoma pottery. But the traditional manner of working, using the basic elements of earth, water, fire, and air, has remained unchanged with many Acoma potters today.

Rose and Tena Garcia still dig the clay from the earth and over a period of weeks mix it with water and prepare the clay for hand coiling into a beautifully shaped pot. A slip of finer clay is applied to the surface of the pot and then polished with a stone. Mineral paint, also dug from the earth, is ground on a stone metate, mixed with water and applied using the tip of a yucca leaf as a brush to drag the paint across the curved surface of the pot. Everything is done freehand. No nervous coffee jitters here.

Many of Rose and Tena's design elements are centuries old. The balance of light and dark, of design and space shows the heritage of being in complete harmony with their universe....a universe of sky, of sun, of wind, of silent mesas, and long stary nights. A universe of harmony with mother earth from which the pots are made.

Rose pased away in the spring of 2001 but Tena is still doing beautiful work.

2 1/2" high by 2 3/4" dia. $85.

SOLD

9" X 8"

$675.

A beautiful canteen with the Acoma parot and geometric design by Rose Chino Garcia. Hand coiled and hand painted by this great artist. 9" from the bottom to the spout. 8'' across the other way. 5" high

Price$675.

SOLD

6" high $95

Meko Concha, a Taos Pueblo artist who works in clay, made a standing bear one night before he went to bed. During the night the clay slumped and when he awoke in the morning there was the seated bear. For the past twelve years these bears have made me smile and have given me hours of pleasure, handling them and passing them on to people who love and appreciate them. Each one is a unique creation. 6" high $95.

In the traditional manner of a pueblo artist who works in clay, Meko digs the clay by hand from ancient clay beds used for centuries by both Taos and Picuris Pueblos. The clay, which has flecs of mica in it, has to be screened and soaked for days before it is ready to be made into pottery. Meko's work is characterized by a keen sense of his northern Tiwa ancestory and a concern for the contemporary expression of his Taos Pueblo tribal heritage. Meko says, " Working in clay gives me a sense of the fragility, permanence, and resiliency of the earth from where it comes. It is expressive. functional, and can be made with the simplest materials and tools. I feel that the continuing innovation of micaceous pottery is symbolic of away of life that goes on in dignity and beauty. It is a traditional process extending into contemporary expression."

A Taos bean pot by above artist Meko Concha.

6 1/2 inches high by 7 1/4 inches from handle to handle.

This is an exquiste piece of work.

$425.00

Acoma Pueblo Owl-1940's

$375.

Acoma Pueblo turkey circa 1930's. Truly an unusual and

interesting piece and the first one that I have ever seen.

4 1/4" high. In good condition. $425.

If you have ever wanted an adobe house, here is your chance. These are a pair complete with little fireplaces inside and ristras of red chile (painted) on the side. Low maintenance.

These date from around the 1940's or 50's 3" high by 4" across. Signed R. Gachupin Zia Pueblo. $425.