HOPI AND NAVAJO

Click on the photograph for an enlarged view.

      Karen was born on September 23, 1960. She is one of the finest young Hopi potters working today. She particularly likes using some of the older designs on her pots – the Polik Mana - (Butterfly Maiden) pottery sherds, feathers, eagle tail feather skirt, clouds, and song birds. Karen works particularly hard on her outdoor firing techniques - aiming to have a certain warm glow with the use of fire clouds. We continue to be so pleased with Karen’s current work. As recognition for her fine traditional Hopi ware grows, so does her excellence in shaping and painting.
      This open bowl is simply fantastic. The shaping, the polishing, the painting, and especially the imagery all add up to a wonderful new and unique piece from Karen. The inside of the bowl features six polychrome dragonfly images and five outlined shadowed dragonflies. Mottled like gentle paint splatters surround the insects adding to a beautiful contemporary feel. The backside is plain polished, with on e dragonfly and her trademark shard. The golden hues that came from this firing are magnificent; I like everything about this new bowl!

#HN51011 - 10 ½” wide by 3 ¼” high
Price: $1300

      Dorothy Ami - is one of the relatively new young Hopi potters working today. Her work is innovative in design, shape and clay colorations. Her fine line designs are carefully drawn and beautifully painted using a single strand of yucca and all natural pigments. Dorothy's cousin, Mark Tahbo, has been "mentoring" her - and her recent work has shown so much growth and change. Her painting is both clean and precise. Her pieces are thin walled, and the firing techniques show beautiful areas of blush.

#HN9730 - 9 1/2" high by 5" wide
Price: $1200

      Loren Ami has been an active potter since 1990. His grandmother was Eleanor Ami, and he was taught to make pottery by DEXTRA. He was raised in Santa Fe, away from Hopiland. During his senior year in high school, he and his mom moved back to Hopi. Loren paints with old, Sikyatki designs, and is especially known for his fine polychrome canteens, wedding vases, and bowls. The shape of this wedding vase is just right. Well proportioned, and beautifully painted, it is a lovely piece. Look at the use of fire clouding that he achieves in his firing. A warm glow surrounds the entire wedding vase.

#HN4105 - 9 3/4" high by 4" wide
Price: $1600

     Preston is an accomplished artist in several medias – ceramics, metalwork, jewelry, and painting. His pottery often combines traditional techniques with contemporary shapes. Preston has said, “I want to establish cultural innovations offering alternatives in artist expression with experimentation in various techniques and media.”
     His Hopi name is Lomaiquilvaa--Carried in Beauty. This name was given to him after a relative had carried the sleeping boy home late at night following his initiation ceremony. How appropriate that name has become his hallmark. Born in Hotevilla, the third of three mesas on which the Hopi people have lived for centuries, Duwyenie grew up with beauty all around him. "Everyone has an art. My mother was a basket weaver, my father a Katsina carver. You grow up learning how to make art."
     This new plate is beautifully formed and textured. The clay has a light orange hue to it, so he has embedded an orange coral stone off set on the plate. He often uses the ripple pattern that he calls “shifting sands.” He tells us this was inspired by the flowing lines of moving sand and water. This pattern reminds him of how the wind and rain produced similar patterns in the washes and dunes near his childhood home. The rippled face of the plate has a flat surface finish while the back of the plate is a smooth orange, polished surface.

#HN51013 - 6" wide
Price: $650

      This plate was made by Preston and then polished by Debra. The back is fully polished and the front has also been fully polished and then the designs incised into the clay. The central medallion is a sun face with very tightly etched feathers. There are seven turtles surrounding the sun face, each with a different design on its back. Note the one turtle with the wavy lines, which is meant to represent Preston and his shifting sand pottery. Surrounding the turtles are dragonflies and around the rim is a water serpent! There is an amazing amount of design for such a small piece, but it all works so beautifully. It is always interesting that Debra does all of her sgraffito work into the clay before they are fired, which adds to the difficulty of her work. One can see why both Preston and Debra have won numerous awards for theirr pottery at events such as Santa Fe Indian Market and the Heard Museum Indian Market. Congratulations again for winning a red ribbon in the Miniature category at the Heard show in March of 2013 !

#SC31312 - 4.75" diameter
Price: $650

     Here is a very special black Mica bowl with a sterling silver carved dome lid. Preston is known for his simplicity in form. This is a gorgeous shaped bowl, which has been slipped with mica and then native fired to turn it black. Using his skills as a jeweler as well as a potter, he has created this amazingly beautiful “dome lid” The whole piece is extremely elegant. One can see how Preston relies on his technical prowess and lets the non designed bowl stand for itself. It is real perfection in form and design.

#HN4 - 10 6/8" in diameter and 4 1/2" in height without the lid, 5 7/8" in height with the lid
Price: $2500

     Bearing the Hopi name Koyemsi, which stands for the Hopi-Tewa mudhead clown, Steve Lucas has become one of the premier potters from the Nampeyo family. He consistently wins blue ribbons at the Santa Fe Indian Market, the Heard Museum Guild Fair and the Gallup Ceremonial. His work is made in the traditional style of his great-great grandmother, Nampeyo. He coils, pinches, scrapes, sands, and then fires outside. Steve uses vegetal paints, and is able to achieve beautifully deep, rich colors in his design work.
     Oh – what a fabulous LARGE bowl by Steve. A full 11” wide, the size of this piece lends itself to showcase the complexities of Steve’s paintings. An abstract polychrome creation, every stroke is perfect and meaningfully placed on the top and sides of this wonderful bowl. As much as we like the smaller examples of his work – when you can see a fully decorated – wide expanse of his painting – one can fully understand why he is considered to be one of the finest potters working in Hopi today. When you add the natural glow that results from outdoor firing, you are left with a marvelous piece of contemporary art.

#HN0907 - 5 1/2"' high by 11" wide
Price: $5500

     This is a particularly beautifully painted piece of pottery by Steve Lucas. The hues are so deep- reds, blacks, tans, combined with bold lines and modern flecking of colors. The stylized eagle tails and feathers create such movement around the plain polished bottom. There is a high polished glow with this piece, brought out by the careful and extensive stone polishing.

#HN1911 - 4 1/2" high by 6 1/2" wide
Price: $1975

     This is a wonderful small example of Steve’s new work. Nicely shaped, with an asymmetric lip, and orange cast to the clay, he has beautifully painted a modern rendition of eagle tails.

#HN21226 - 4” high by 3” wide
Price: $700

     Here is a new smaller bowl by Steve Lucas. Knowing that I really like his “red bottom” bowls, and I also love his stylized, polychrome birds, this was the piece for me. It is striking color combinations; the background actually has an orangish cast to it. The modern splattering of paints on the top adds to a lovely, contemporary feel. There are matching birds on both sides of the bowl. Steve is one of the best painters working today!

#HN91113 - 5” high by 5 ¾” wide
Price: $1400

      This is a great shape with a very narrow bottom, accentuated by a deep red slipped area banded in black, then wonderful bird imagery on the top with diamonds and other symbols. Along with the red slips, he also used some brown on this one (in the diamond areas) and it really works well. It has a beautiful sheen to it, so the painting jumps out in a bold style. Steve is a marvelous painter, so careful, and pristine,

#HN978 - 7" high by 8 1/2" wide
Price: $2850

     Rondina was born in Keams Canyon, Arizona and is a member of the Tewa Kachina/Parrot Clan. She has been a resident of Polacca, Arizona since her childhood. Never receiving any formal training in pottery making, she makes her pottery in the traditional way. She starts the process by collecting clay from down below the mesa, then sifts, strains, and dries the clay. Then she coils, dries, and sands the pottery. Then comes polishing, slipping, and painting. Finally she fires the pieces outside. Rondina still uses yucca plants to make her paint brushes. She is truly one of this country's most gifted potters. Her pots are undeniably her own - with a distinctive style of decoration.
     Rondina won BEST OF SHOW at INDIAN MARKET in 1986 and 1996 she gathers her clay near the ruined village of Awatovi, Arizona, and still makes her own paintbrushes from yucca plants. With them she applies incredibly intricate and delicate black, white, and red designs to backgrounds of white and orange buff. Her rows are so tightly packed with blocks of repeating patterns that her symbols create eye dazzling designs. This work is so demanding, and so unbelievably time consuming, that there are very few potters who even attempt to imitate this style. She really is one of our "master potters." "You must feel good, beginning when you dig the clay. It comes from Mother Nature and deserves respect."
     This small bowl is outstanding. Rondina has continued to use her trademark shard pattern. Rondina works so hard to keep her designs as tight as possible. Working on a clay piece that is this small and trying to exact so many precise patterns is such a challenge. But Rondina has created such a gem. The entire inside of the bowl is polished. She is one of a kind!

#HN5119 - 2 ½” high by 3” wide
Price: $2500 SOLD

     Charles was born in 1965, and is the great grand-son of Paqua Naha, and the grandson of Joy Navasie ("Frog Woman") Charles uses Sityatki decorations on his pots. This one is a terrific shape - with the classic design on the top of the bowl, and the beautiful plain polished elegance on the bottom, showing off the lustrous natural firing marks. And this time, he has painted his hallmark signature on the actual front of the pot - not on the bottom. It adds a special unique quality to the design.
      Charles is known for his tightly painted designs and thin walled pottery.  This bowl is a beautiful example of that work. Here he has eagle tail designs, painted with the traditional Hopi reds and blacks. The tails are combined with flowing and detailed geometrics providing quite a bit of movement to the piece.

#HN7518 - 6 " high by 6 1/2 " wide
Price: $900

      Stetson Setalla, member of the Bear Clan, was born into the Hopi-Tewa Reservation in 1962. He is the grandson of the famous “Paqua Naha” who paved the way for elegant white slip Hopi pottery. Stetson was inspired to continue the family tradition of pottery making from his Mother, Pauline Setalla. He began making pottery at the age of 19, immediately after he graduated from High School.
      Stetson demonstrates wonderful pottery making skills with each piece he coils. The clay is dug up within the grounds of the Hopi Reservation and natural vegetables and minerals are used for colors. He fires his pottery outdoors with sheep dung. Stetson signs his pottery as S. Setalla, followed by a rain cloud symbol.
      Stetson is related to many well known potters who include: Eunice “Fawn” Navasie (aunt), Dee Setalla (brother), Sylvia Naha (cousin), Burel Naha (uncle), Gwen Setalla (sister), and the famous Joy “Frogwoman” Navasie.
      This is a stunning classic Hopi canteen. Polychrome painted turtles are painted on both sides of the canteen. A double leather strap is attached to the handles for hanging purposes.

#HN11314 - 7 ½” high by 8” wide
Price: $725

     "Al Q" was raised in Southern California when his parents had left the reservation in the 1930's. For many years, Al worked in northern California at Litton Industries developing high tech guidance systems and air borne star trackers. He had received a degree in mechanical engineering, and also a Master’s in mechanical and control systems engineering. He often encourages young Native Americans to enter in sciences as a study area. He founded the American Indian Science and Engineering Society in 1977. Al is able to incorporate his creative, spiritual side with his scientific side, and he creates some absolutely incredible pottery.
     All his work in clay is built in the traditional method of coiling. He then stretches his clay - creating that overall effect of elegance and fluidity. He creates architectural type designs in clay - Corn Maidens, Kokopelli, Mesas, and butterflies - all in relief work.
     In his artist's statement Al Q says." "By Grace my Creator gives me everlasting hope. My clay gives me an artist's life. The spirit of my work reflects the soft hues, shadows and forms of the high desert. The life of my work has its roots in a timeless culture, the mystery of our origins, and the links to Mesoamerica and beyond."
     Al's work is displayed in many prominent museum permanent collections: The Denver Art Museum, The Heard Museum, The Taylor Museum, The Millicent Rogers Museum, the Museum of Northern Arizona, and others.
      We are very excited to have this new work from this outstanding potter! This bowl is inspired by the pre-historic Sikyatki pottery, which has a wide, flat shoulder. Al has made this piece with a beautiful mauve colored clay! The piece has been stone polished in a vertical or "onion-skin" manner. Al calls this piece, "The Path of Life". Note the small raised area near the mouth. It has been carved with an ancient style pueblo wall and key-hole doorway. Take a closer look at the images and note how the walls are tightly carved and etched to create the feeling of actual stone. Simply amazing! Interestingly, the door is visible from both the front and the back of the piece! The idea of the piece is that in one's path of life, there is always a new door leading somewhere and sometimes the door is an unexpected opening. This vessel shows how Al continues to redefine the notions of traditional Hopi pottery.

#HN3111 - 12" wide by 5.75" high
Price: $5400 SOLD

     Dextra is the daughter of Rachel and Emerson Namingha. Her grandparents were Annie and Willie Healing and her Tewa Great-grandmother was Nampeyo. Dextra began making pottery in 1967. She has been working on her pottery ever since, and is now recognized as the "living matriarch of Hopi pottery." Her mother, Rachel, watched and supervised her. Dextra was recognized as a "Master" in 1977 in an article in the American Indian Art Magazine. The article stated that "The graceful shapes bear a rich complexity of designs and the craftsmanship is flawless,"
      This jar, made in the mid 90’s is absolutely beautiful. This is a special design that Dextra created in January, to celebrate the beginning of the year. It depicts Ceremonial birds, one male and one female. This piece was made when her colors and painting were so strong. The red is so deep, and the pigment used in the body of the bird is so nicely complimented by that same red on the lip of the jar. The firing on this piece turned out particularly well. It is golden, and has a slight orange cast to it. It is a beautiful shape and the bird design works so well, creating movement around the middle of the jar. One can see why Dextra has been such an instrumental figure in the world of traditional Hopi-Tewa pottery. This is a marvelous example of her work.

#HN2111 - 4 ½” high by 5” wide
Price: $4800 SOLD

     Harrison Begay, Jr. is a Navajo artist. He was born in Keams Canyon, Arizona in 1961. He grew up in Arizona, and Utah, and now resides in New Mexico. He went to college at a small school in Utah and then quickly turned to art as a full time career. He is a self-taught potter, who received lots of help from friends and other artists. Actually, Harrison started as a painter, using oils and acrylics, and then decided to turn all his attention and efforts to pottery.
     Harrison has become known for his deep, clean carvings in both black and red ware. He uses cross-cultural symbols, such as petroglyphs, animal imagery, and geometric designs. He often uses Navajo symbols directly stemming from his own cultural heritage.
     Since 1999 he has won so many awards at the Santa Fe Indian Market, Eight Northern Market, and the Heard Museum Show. It seems that with each passing year, he has become better known, and has earned great respect as a talented potter. We have worked with him since the very first day we started this business, and it is always a pleasure!
     This new carved jar by Harrison is really quite exquisite. It is particularly well carved; deep, precise, and clean. The firing is wonderful, with a high deep black sheen. The combinations of carved spirals, curves, fans, and other geometric elements blend so well together on this piece. There is a lovely contrast of symbols on the polished and matte areas of the jar. It’s a terrifically well designed pot.

#HN7118 - 5 ½” high by 5 ½” wide
Price: $900

     This is a hand coiled and traditionally fired black carved bowl called "Three Traveling Bears”. What is special about this piece is that it is entirely polished…no matte areas. The polishing is top notch, and the carvings are terrific. The three bears are marching around one side of the lip, and the rest of the bowl shows curves, lines, swirls, and geometric imagery. It is a beautiful composition.

#HN121220 - 5 3/4" by 5 3/4"
Price: $975

     Alice Cling is the daughter of Rose Williams, and began to make pottery in 1966 after returning to Shonto after her high school graduation. She soon thereafter created her own unique style, using simplicity of form, and achieving a soft surface sheen. These traits have become hallmarks of her work. She has perfected this burnishing technique through much trial and error, using just the right amount of pitch in her work to produce this highly appealing result- her polished pottery almost looks like beautiful wood carvings! She sometimes experiments with texture by occasionally incising, or impressing, or adding appliquéd bands of clay. In 1978, one of her pieces was exhibited in the Vice-Presidential Mansion in Washington DC. Since then, she has won numerous awards at every Market and show that she has entered. We are pleased to work directly with Alice as she designs new and beautiful shaped traditional pitch coated Navajo pottery.
    This is a beautifully shaped vase we have acquired from Alice. The simplicity of the piece is what makes it so special - browns, reds, and blacks, all melding together. The beautifully coiled tall neck opening adds extra visual appeal.

#HN5138 - 8 ½” high by 6 ½” wide
Price: $480

     I have always enjoyed the jars Alice creates with square openings. It has become a trademark for her. This jar is simple and elegant and a lovely shape.

#HN5139 - 6 ½” high by 5” wide
Price: $270

     Here is a simple vase with a round opening, well burnished; a classic example of Alice’s traditional work.

#HN31318 - 6 ½” high by 5 ¼” wide
Price: $195

     Susie W. Crank has been making pottery in the traditional Navajo method for the last 12 years. She is the daughter of the legendary potter Rose Williams and sister of the well known contemporary potter Alice Cling. Susie credits Alice as being her inspiration and teacher. In the last several months, Susie has worked incredibly hard on her polishing techniques - and as you can see by this new bowl, made just last week – it is absolutely elegant! Like with Alice's pots - some people think they are actually made out of wood! The very round shape, the gorgeous coloration, the added pinion pitch..all adds up to a wonderful Navajo traditional bowl.

#HN31319 - 5” high by 6 ½” wide
Price: $150

      Samuel Manymules was born August 30, 1963 of the Bitterwater Clan for the Red Horse Nakai Dine Clan. He writes for us, "Unemployment is extremely high on the Navajo Nation. Through my adult life, I have been employed sporadically among many trades: I once made jewelry for the late Herbert Taylor, drove a tow truck for several years, and worked at an auto dealership. After dabbling in making pottery for over a decade, it is only very recently that I considered myself a potter, I am self-taught, At the moment, I consider myself more serious and engaged with my pottery.
      The vessels I make are of traditional natural materials. First, I gather moist pure clay from local riverbed sources, which is then dried three to four months in the sun. When dried, the resulting clumps are crushed, ground and sifted into fine powder. Temper is also gathered and processed; volcanic ash, silt, or pottery shards may be used. After hand mixing, the clay is set aside for curing. Finally, after many months of preparation, the clay mixture is ready for use. Firing is an all-day process. Cedar wood is used because it burns efficiently and high temperatures. Fire clouds happen by chance. When finished, debris, such as ash, is carefully removed. Refined pinion tree sap is then swabbed inside and out with a stick while the vessel cools. After the vessel cools, the pottery is polished with a cotton cloth to a high sheen."
      Samuel has won numerous awards since 2002, including a recent Judges' Choice Award at the 2008 Heard Museum and a Blue Ribbon at the 2009 Santa Fe Indian Market. He has been awarded Blue and red ribbons at both the Santa Fe Indian Market, the Heard Museum Market, and in both 2005 and 2006 won Best of Pottery at the Southwest Museum Indian Marketplace.
      Samuel continues to work on his superb shapes and forms. His forms tend to be sophisticated and elegant. There is simplicity to his work that is so pleasing. This new water jar is one of our favorite, traditional shapes. Notice the beautiful fire clouds.

#HN999 - 11” high by 10” wide
Price: $2460

      Congratulations to Samuel for winning a blue ribbon at the Heard Museum Indian Market in March, 2013. His work continues to be outstanding. Look at the firing on this wonderful bowl. The colors are absolutely magnificent. It is a large, swirl melon bowl, with varying shades of reds, terrace cotta and black. This piece shows such a level of sophistication in his finishing work. ..Simply beautiful.

#HN31315 - 6” high by 9” wide
Price: $1650

      Stunning! What a graceful shape. Coiling the piece with a wide shoulder, and a definite ridge to the belly, this is perfectly proportioned form. This piece is exceptional in the way that the smokiness of the fires produced such gorgeous and varied fire clouds. Very soft and muted n tones, it is lovely. The thin tapering bottom fits so well with the opening of the lip. What skill Samuel has in coiling these marvelous shapes.

#HN31317 - 6 ¼” high by 7 ½” wide
Price: $395 SOLD

    Ida Sahmie was born in 1960. Like many young Navajo girls, Ida Sahmie was taught to weave rugs by her mother and grandmother. But unlike most of those other girls, Ida grew up to be rather unconventional. She married a Hopi man, she learned to make pottery, and she graduated from the International Business College in Albuquerque, New Mexico as a microcomputer specialist.
     Ida was raised in the Pine Springs, Arizona area of the Navajo reservation. When she was 19 years old she married Andrew Sahmie, ofmHopi/Tewa descent. Andrew's mother is Priscilla Namingha, granddaughter ofmNampeyo, a name that is synonymous with Hopi pottery. For several years after her marriage, Ida watched her in-laws as they made pottery. Then one day she picked up some clay and began to form a small pot. "I smoothed and polished it just like they did," she says, "but I painted my own designs. And right away those little pots sold. I couldn't stop. People liked it."
    In 1986 Ida entered her first competition at the Navajo Craftsman Exhibition at the Museum of Northern Arizona, and won a blue ribbon for a beautiful jar with a Mother Earth - Father Sky design. That same year she also won a first place award at the Navajo Nation Fair. Since then she has received numerous awards for her pieces.
    Ida collects her clay from the Hopi Reservation, mixing it with a small amount of yellow clay so that it fires to a light tan color. Each pot is made by first coiling clay ropes into the shape desired, after which the sides are scraped until the coils are blended together. After the pot dries she brings it to a smooth finish, inside and out, by sanding and adding a coat of slip. Then she polishes the outside.
    Painting is the last thing she does before firing. Ida uses natural red and white earth pigments and black paint made from bee plant, painting her pottery with a yucca brush. Ida fires her pots outdoors in a wood and manure fueled oven. "My potteries are good because I do my own designs," Ida explains. "I think it's my designs that people like-the unique combination of Hopi and Navajo. In shows I like the tag to say Navajo, because that is what I am. But to me, my work is contemporary pottery.
    This Day Dance is very compelling. Ida comes to see me quite often, with new works, and it is so delightful working with her. She tries so hard to make her painting precise and clear, and actually be able relate a "story". She does a terrific job.

#HN8519 - 3 3/4 " high by 3 1/4" wide
Price: $750

    This is Ida’s painted design called “The Night Dance” It is beautifully executed on her hand coiled and traditionally fired open bowl. Ida does exceptionally nice painted ware. The mountains, moon, stars, open fires, all show the aspects of the Ceremonial Dance at night.

#HN91018 - 3 ¼” high by 3 ¼” wide
Price: $700

    Sue Williams is the sister of world renowned Navajo potter Alice Cling and Susie Crank. The three sisters learned pottery from their mother, Rose Williams, who is recognized as one of the matriarchs of modern Navajo pottery. Sue's pieces are entirely hand-made, from digging and preparing the clay to hand constructing the pot, and finally to firing it in a wood fire. Each piece is then coated with a thin veneer of melted pine pitch, enhancing the color variations that result naturally from the firing.
    This piece has such nice color variations from deep brown and orange to blacks. Sue has become known for her special treatment of the edge around the rim of the pot. Like a rope design, it adds gret visual appeal.

#HN21113 - 5 ½” high by 5 ½”wide
Price: $270