Regina Cata, Ohkay Owingeh Potter

Ohkay Owingeh artist Regina Albarado de Cata was one of the original seven or eight potters in the 1930s "San Juan Revival." She was joined by Luteria Atencio, Crucita Trujillo, Reycita Trujillo, Tomasita Montoya, Crucita A Talachy, and Gregortia Cruz . Flora Cata and her husband Demecio Cata also were making revival style, polychrome redware by the end of the 1930s.  Regina was born around 1881 in Colorado and was the daughter of a gentleman who moved to Colorado from Spain, so she was Spanish.  She married  a young man from San Juan Pueblo and spent her life there assiting the pueblo and its people and helped preserve and renew the arts and customs of the pueblo.

According to Geronima Montoya and documented by Jonathan Batkin, Regina organized "crafts club meetings" at San Juan Day School. She was encouraged by Chester Faris, Superintendent of the Santa Fe Indian School. She may also have been encouraged by Kenneth Chapman, a founding member of the Museum of New Mexico and School of American Research.

The San Juan Crafts club visited the Museum of New Mexico to examine San Juan Pueblo pottery in the museum collection. Regina Cata and the Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo (San Juan) potters also visited an archeological site, Potsuwi'i. Here they found incised 15th century pottery was made by their ancestors. They were inspired to create a new style of pottery, incised polychrome redware, with a buff, unpolished design area and polished rim and base. Some designs were incised patterns of diagonal lines, diamonds and zigzags. Others were incised outlines of traditional designs of clouds, flowers, feather and more. Inside the outlines, they used colored clay slips to create polychrome compositions.

Regina Cata's great granddaughter, Karen Denilaikai, spoke with enthusiasm and admiration:

"She was talented. Beyond pottery, you should see the tapestry she wove of the 'Virgin of Guadalupe.' It hangs in the church. Regina Cata made thousands of cloth dolls. She also made great clay sculptures. Her artwork is in the Smithsonian Institution."

Source: Indian Pottery: 750 Artist Biographies by Gregory Schaaf.

Relative Links: Southwest Indian Pottery, Ohkay Owingeh (San Juan Pueblo), Luteria Atencio, Reycita Trujillo, Tomasita Montoya, Geronima Montoya, Jonathan Batkin, Kenneth Chapman