Roxanne Swentzell, Santa Clara Pueblo Artist

Santa Clara Pueblo artist Roxanne Swentzell comes from a family of artists-potters and sculptors. She began making clay figures at age 7. As an adult, Swentzell started to make full-length clay figures depicting "the complete spectrum of the human spirit," as her web site says. In her estimation, a great deal of humanity is "out of touch with their environment," and her figures are meant to guide them back to their surroundings and feelings, including a "full range of emotions and irrepressible moods."

Roxanne Swentzell (1962 -) spends a lot of time creating female characters in hopes that it will help strike a balance between the power of men and women. Humor is also an integral part of her work.

While still in high school, this Native American contemporary legend had the opportunity to attend the Institute for American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. She later found her way to the Portland Museum Art School in Oregon.

The Poeh Center's Tower Gallery in Pojoaque, just north of Santa Fe, is devoted to her pieces, and Roxanne's sculptures can be found in collections such as the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

TAGS: Santa Clara Pueblo, Santa Fe, Pojoaque, Bronze Sculpture, Contemporary Pottery