Catherine Cyr and Sarah Sudres
In Pueblo communities, pottery making is often a family affair. Pueblo people learn to
shape and decorate clay arts by mimicking the actions of their relatives and elders. This
multi-generational environment teaches individuals to source materials, experiment
with clay, and access the stories behind cultural motifs. While pottery knowledge had
long been passed through matrilineal lines, today many men participate in these
artistic networks.
Numerous Pueblo artists descend from two matriarch potters who established a
distinctive visual legacy. Nampeyo (Hopi-Tewa, about 1860-1942) developed a style of
polychrome shapes, patterns, and abstracted animals, revitalizing ancestral Hopi
designs. Margaret Tafoya (Santa Clara Pueblo, 1904-2001) created large, highly
polished blackware and redware vessels with deep engravings. While other Creative
Connections have inspired Pueblo artists, these ancestral teachers have profoundly
influenced many of the works on display.
