Stephanie Rhoades - Snowflake Flower, Cochiti Pueblo Pottery

Stephanie C. Rhoades (Snowflake Flower)

Cochiti Pueblo | b. 1931

Cochiti Pueblo artist Stephanie C. Rhoades — also known as Snowflake Flower or Estephanita — has been handcrafting traditional storytellers and clay sculptures since the late 1970s. She comes from a distinguished lineage of Pueblo potters, including her grandmother Estephanita Herrera, her sister Ada Suina, and her cousin Mary Martin.

Continuing the time-honored methods of her ancestors, Snowflake Flower gathers her own raw materials directly from the sacred grounds of Cochiti Pueblo. She hand-mixes harvested red clay with native white sand to shape each unique sculpture by hand. Once the pieces are dry, she carefully sands them smooth before applying natural pigments: a vibrant white slip, a rich red clay paint, and a deep black paint derived from wild spinach.

Her pottery is fired outdoors in the traditional manner, using cedar wood chips and cow manure to achieve authentic finishes. Snowflake Flower signs each completed piece with Snowflake Flower, Cochiti NM, alongside the title of the figurine.

Reference: Southern Pueblo Pottery: 2,000 Artist Biographies by Gregory Schaaf

TAGS: Cochiti Pueblo, Mary Martin, Ada Suina, storyteller figurines, Pueblo Pottery