Mary and Leonard Trujillo, Cochiti Pueblo Potters
+ Add Artist to My Preferences
Mary and Leonard Trujillo
Cochiti Pueblo & Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo
Mary and Leonard Trujillo stand among the most distinguished masters of Cochiti Pueblo figurative ceramics. Collaborative pottery-making partners from the 1980s onward, they were celebrated for keeping alive the rare and technically demanding art of large-scale Storyteller figurines-a complex art form that few modern potters attempt.
Mary Tapia Trujillo (1937-2021) was born in Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo (formerly San Juan Pueblo) and married Leonard Trujillo (1936-2017) of Cochiti Pueblo. Upon settling at Cochiti, Mary learned the foundational techniques of clay figurine construction from her famed mother-in-law, Helen Cordero, the originator of the Storyteller ceramic tradition. Mary and Leonard subsequently mastered the art, establishing a signature style characterized by exceptional scale, fine detailing, and vibrant expressions.
The couple passed their artistic legacy on to their daughter, Geraldine Trujillo, whose work carries forward her family's curatorial standards. Today, Mary and Leonard Trujillo's monumental storytellers are preserved in world-class institutions, including the Heard Museum in Phoenix and the School for Advanced Research (SAR) in Santa Fe.
Reference: Southern Pueblo Pottery: 2,000 Artist Biographies by Gregory Schaaf.
TAGS: Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo, Cochiti Pueblo, Helen Cordero, Geraldine Trujillo, Southwest Indian Pottery