Juanita Inez Ortiz, Cochiti Pueblo Potter

(Juanita) Inez Ortiz (Mapuwana - "Wild Rose") (1960-2008) was a master potter from Cochiti Pueblo celebrated for preserving traditional hand-coiled ceramic methods. In keeping with Pueblo custom, Inez began learning the art of clay construction at an early age, guided by two towering figures of Southwestern pottery: her mother, Seferina Ortiz, and her grandmother, Laurencita Herrera.

While her brother Virgil Ortiz and niece Lisa Holt became renowned for avant-garde, contemporary ceramic forms, Inez remained deeply rooted in classic Cochiti pottery traditions-faithfully producing time-honored shapes, natural slip decorations, and expressive figurative works throughout her career. She belonged to one of the most prolific potting families in the Southwest, working alongside her siblings Joyce, Janice, and Virgil.

"I make all kinds of things: bears, nativity sets, miniatures, storyteller figurines, owls, turtles, and clay drums. I mold the 'couple' pieces in different sizes... I go back to the traditional because people like it."  - Inez Ortiz (cited in Rick Dillingham, Fourteen Families in Pueblo Pottery, 1994, p. 127)

References:

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

- Fourteen Families In Pueblo Pottery, by Rick Dillingham

TAGS: Cochiti Pueblo, pottery making, Seferina Ortiz, Laurencita Herrera, Virgil Ortiz, Lisa Holt