María Carrillo-Marquina and Dakota Stevens
For Puebloan peoples, clay is much more than a material used to create artistic and
utilitarian objects. Clay is an inherent part of their worldview and everyday life. Artists
are created from the ground on which they walk. “We came from the earth just as the
clay comes from the earth. Our origins and the pots’ origins are one and the same. . .
This relationship does not divide the world into living and nonliving: it assumes that
the world is a living, breathing being.” These words, written by scholar Tessie Naranjo
(Santa Clara Pueblo), describe clay as a vital partner in the creation process. Makers
speak to the clay, taste it, ask it what it wants to be, and let the earth guide their hands.
From clay, collaboration extends to other materials, such as cuttlefish bones and
turquoise, all of which seamlessly flow together in partnership.
