Lucy Martin Lewis, Acoma Pueblo Potter and Matriarch


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Artist Signature - Lucy Lewis (1898-1992) Acoma PuebloLucy Lewis (1898-1992) Acoma Pueblo - image Adobe GalleryLucy Martin Lewis, Acoma Pueblo Potter and Matriarch, was one of the most widely respected potters from her pueblo. She was one of the last Acoma matriarchs to live full-time at the Pueblo. She followed pueblo tradition in every step of pottery production—offering prayers of thanks to Mother Earth for the clay, taking only as much clay as she needed, working the clay with only her hands, forming the vessel from coils of clay, scraping the walls with tools fashioned from gourds, painting the vessel with slips and paints made from clay and vegetal sources and, finally, firing the finished pieces in a handmade outdoor kiln.  Lucy signed her pottery as Lucy M. Lewis.

Lucy Martin Lewis was born around 1898 and passed away on March 12, 1992. She spent nearly all her life atop the high mesa of Acoma Pueblo, making pottery since the age of 7. She is largely responsible for the revival of Mimbres black-on-white pottery designs, which are more than 1,000 years old. She was famous, as well, for her exquisite polychrome designs and her fine-line and lightning designs. 

Artist Lucy Lewis image provided by Adobe Gallery

Recommended Reading: LUCY M. LEWIS American Indian Potter by Susan Peterson

TAGS: Acoma Pueblo, Pueblo Pottery