Some potters follow tradition religiously when making pottery and others seem to follow their own ideas if they do not interfere with tradition.  The Acoma Pueblo potter of this serving bowl followed tradition in all steps of making the bowl but deviated from the norm when painting the design.  The only deviation she made is a minor one but one I have never seen before.  The framing line at the lower end of the design panel is normally a straight line around the bowl but this bowl has its framing line in a wavy pattern. something not really noticeable until one turns the bowl upside down.  Perhaps this was a style she followed on other bowls but I have not seen another.  The bowl did have the name of the potter but the only writing left readable is New Mexico.

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The most beautiful pottery ever made at Isleta is the plain-ware vessels that are referred to as Red-on-tan typology. Typical traits are sand temper, a red band wiped around the exterior rim, and scattered fire clouds on the exterior. These pieces were traditionally made for use at the pueblo and were rarely sold to tourists who preferred the decorated wares that were not even traditional to Isleta but were brought in with a group of potters from Laguna Pueblo who migrated to and settled at Isleta before 1900.

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Popovi Da deserves much credit for his influence on pueblo pottery. By having a retail shop at San Ildefonso Pueblo, he was in a position to demand only the finest wares from potters who wished to sell in his studio.  He was following in the footsteps of his famous parents in demanding the finest work.  He encouraged many potters by purchasing their finest pieces during trade fairs and Indian Market.  Much of the demand for high quality pottery by collectors today is the result of Popovi's influence.  It was not until after he passed away in 1971 that prices escalated on outstanding pottery, but it was his influence that is partially responsible for it.

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This painting was most likely executed before Vigil moved to California in the 1950s to work for Walt Disney Studios.  It is of his earlier style and the person, from whose family it came, received it before his retirement in 1955.  The colors are still brilliantly beautiful and there is no evidence of fading or acid damage to the paper on which it is painted.

Romando Vigil was one of the San Ildefonso self-taught artists in the early part of the 20th century. He was a leader within the San Ildefonso Watercolor Movement, a movement that caught fire during 1915 to 1917. It fostered an art form unmatched in the cultural history of the world. These men portrayed tribal culture and local wildlife, attaining a flat decorative character, absent of backgrounds and foregrounds, and free of traditional perspective, with an unerring color sense. Their success in these presentations was due to their understanding the ceremonials they painted because they had participated in them since childhood. They understood the meanings of the symbolism they interpreted.

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Based on research by Lanmon and Harlow and published in their book on Zia Pueblo pottery, we are much more informed on design styles and dating of Zia pottery than ever before.

We now know that the orange/tan slip, as seen on this jar, first appeared in the 1900-1910 period. An even more significant discovery is that the loss of red banding on the underside of the vessel being replaced by a polished red slip occurred in the 1920-1930 period. Base on the most restrictive of these criteria, this jar then dates to the decade before the 1920s.

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The shape of this vessel is very traditional to the Tewa pueblos, particularly San Ildefonso. It has a very aggressive swell at mid-section, a graceful neck and a flared-out rim. It displays the typical tan Tewa paste with volcanic ash and white stone fragments as temper.

The entire upper part of the vessel has had an application of Cochiti rag-wiped slip. This and the red band at the lower end of the slip are indicative of a piece dating to after 1905, however the red rim is indicative of pre-1900 San Ildefonso Polychrome wares. Substituting a black rim for the traditional red rim occurred between 1895 and 1910, therefore this jar likely dates to the 1905-1910 period.

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There is very little published information on Mae Mutz.  She was from the village of Sichomovi on the Hopi Reservation and presumably was an active potter from around 1960 to 1983.  That is the extent of the published information.

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West and slightly north of Teec Nos Pos, very close to the Utah border, are three other posts-Red Mesa, Sweetwater, and Mexican Water-where weavers have produced some outstanding rugs.  Generally, each element of design is outlined in the tradition seen at Teec Nos Pos but the designs are simpler and the colors more pleasing.  Traditionally, all weavers used only handspun native wool.

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Jan Loco is a member of the Warm Springs Apache tribe.  She began making jewelry in 1988. She has developed a method of making jewelry without the use of hand tools. After cutting the silver to the desired shape (with heavy-duty poultry scissors or something similar), she hammers it with a specially selected rock until she achieves the texture she desires. This is a laborious task, but she feels it honors her ancestry to use items of nature rather than power tools.

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Pueblo moccasins are made with hard soles and soft uppers.  The soles are traditionally cut from rawhide or tanned, thick, neck skin of the deer.  Both Hopi and Zuni make dance moccasins of this style.  The moccasin is painted with blue paint and the front tab painted with yellow paint.  The sole is painted black.

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Dance wands are part of women's ceremonial paraphernalia.  They are rectangular wood tablets with a handle at one end.  When used in dances, one wand is carried vertically in each hand.  On one side of the wand is painted a figure of a rain god or other ceremonial personage.  Rain clouds hover above the figure and a corn symbol is below. There are two holes drilled at the top corners of the wand from which downy feathers are tied.  A series of parallel lines is painted on the backs.

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This katsina, sometimes call the Mak Katsina, is considered to be an import from Laguna Pueblo to the Hopi Mesas. This katsina was illustrated by Jesse Walter Fewkes in Plate XLVII of his publication Hopi Kachinas but Fewkes referred to him as Kwacas Alex Taka, which translates to "eagle feathers erect man" which is based on the two erect feathers on the head, which this doll is missing.

Fred Kabotie, famous Hopi artist, illustrated a pair of this katsina in his 1938 watercolor painting Hunting Dance from Laguna. The katsina is sometimes referred to at Hopi as a Hunter Katsina.

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Adobe Gallery will devote this weekend to the final viewing of its current exhibit:

Tradition & Innovation: the art of Pablita Velarde and Helen Hardin

This very powerful and important Special Exhibit opened in March and will close on Saturday, May 7^th.  Adobe Gallery is the premier gallery for displaying Fine Art of this famous mother & daughter, formerly of Santa Clara Pueblo. 

Pablita was one of the very first female Pueblo painters.  She even made her own painting medium by grinding up earth minerals into a fine powder. 

You don't want to miss viewing this one!  Currently on display, the closing reception will be Friday evening from 4 to 6 pm.  Questions may be referred to the gallery at 505.955.0550 or by email: info@adobegallery.com. 

Previews of all paintings may be seen online: https://www.adobegallery.com/shows/pablita-velarde-helen-hardin-tradition-innovation

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Zia Pueblo has existed at the same location for over 700 years. It is located in a heavily volcanic area of Northern New Mexico, situated near Santa Ana Pueblo, Jemez Pueblo, and about 30 miles northwest of Albuquerque. The spelling of the pueblo's name originally was Tsia, but corrupted to Zia in the 20th century.

The potters of Zia have consistently produced outstanding vessels, made particularly strong by the use of crushed powdered lava for a tempering agent. They spent considerable effort in providing beautiful decoration executed in precise detail on the vessels made for their own use and those made for trade to the people of Jemez Pueblo for crops from the Jemez fields.

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We have designated this bowl to be historic because we believe it to pre-date circa 1940.  It is unusual in a couple aspects-it expands upward from a round shape to a square shape and it has a wiped-on red band on the interior rim in lieu of placing such under the decorated section on the exterior.  It is a wonderful bowl in both shape and design.  The rim was black but the color has mostly abraded away from use.  There are double framing lines at the rim and near the underbody.

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Delores Juanico is a daughter of Marie S. Juanico (1937 - ) who was her mentor.  Marie had learned pottery principals from her mother, Delores Sanchez, who lived to the age of 103. Young Delores carries on the tradition from her grandmother and mother of making the finest Acoma pottery.

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Three quarters of a century, from 1880 to the 1950s, saw an immense change in pueblo pottery in most of the pueblos and that includes pottery from Acoma Pueblo.  When the transcontinental railroad passed through New Mexico Territory in 1880, it made a stop at Laguna Pueblo to give the tourists a chance to see the highly touted Indians of the area.  Potters from Acoma Pueblo would load their wares on burros and take the trip to Laguna to sell to the train travelers.  It did not take long for the potters to realize that their magnificent large and beautiful pottery was not practical for travelers to handle, so the potters began making smaller items for that purpose.

Following World War I, the railroad moved its tracks from Laguna over to the Acoma villages, thus greatly facilitating the Acoma potters and devastating those at Laguna.  In the 1930s, Route 66 was built along the former railroad route giving potters from both pueblos another outlet to set up stands along the highway to sell their wares.  Converting Route 66 to Interstate 25 ended that procedure, however.

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