Before the arrival of a contingent of families from Laguna Pueblo in the 1870s, Isleta pottery was simple, elegant and undecorated except for beautiful fire clouds.  After the Laguna potters settled in at their new home, they introduced Laguna-style polychrome decorated wares at Isleta and that style eventually came to be known as Isleta pottery.

Isleta pre-1900 pottery was made from tan earth-color clay over which was applied red slip that was then stone polished.  Sand was used as temper.  The potters who were traditionalists at Isleta did not switch over and start making the Laguna-style pottery.  Those older potters continued making their traditional wares as late as the 1920s.  Traditional Isleta redware pottery was embellished with a wide red band on the exterior wall at the rim of the jar.  In this jar, the exterior red band measures about 2-1/2 inches wide.  On the interior, there is also a red band at the rim which measures ½ inch wide.

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Teresita Romero was best known for making large jars and storyteller-like figurines. She was active only from around 1910s to 1960s, so her pottery is rather difficult to find. I do not believe there are many examples of her pottery on the market as we have not had but two others of hers in the history of the gallery. 

Her grandsons, Mateo Romero and Diego Romero, have continued in the tradition of the Cochiti Pueblo artisans, but in a more contemporary and expressive manner than the family tradition.

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Teresita Tafoya Naranjo (1919-1999) Apple Blossom - Bay-Po-Vi was the daughter of Christina Naranjo and granddaughter of Sara Fina Tafoya.  She has been acknowledged as one of the finest 20th-century potters at Santa Clara Pueblo. There have been, and still are, many potters at Santa Clara Pueblo, so to be recognized as one of the finest is not an insignificant compliment.  Her unexpected death in 1999 was a loss to pottery collectors.

This very large storage jar is one of her early masterpieces.  The upper half of the jar features a carved Avanyu design and the lower half is stone-polished red slip.  Teresita was a master potter who always produced magnificent vessels.  This jar qualifies as one of her magnificent ones. The burnish is smooth and consistent and the carving was beautifully accomplished to a consistent depth. This is a beautiful jar that makes a visual impression.

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This is one of the more unique Kewa jars we have encountered. The body of the vessel is globular and rises to a graceful neck that is short in comparison to most jars.  This shape is most appealing from a visual sense and also provided the potter with a larger area on which to lay the design.  There are three traditional polychrome Kewa birds separated by three long-stem black flowers.  The flowers extend from the lower framing lines to the neck of the vessel, made possible by the elongated vessel shape.

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Michaelis Burnham (1968-2003) was of the Navajo-Hopi tribes.  He was born in Tuba City, Arizona.  He was a self-taught artist who developed a mixed media technique in which he combined ground synthetics with acrylic paints to create depth and definition to his Native figures. 

Burnham's cousin was Kevin Quannie and his father was Bruce Burnham, well-known trader and owner of R. B. Burnham Company in Sanders, Arizona.  Young Burnham was born with a degenerative condition which limited him physically and resulted in his last years being hospitalized.

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Best of Santa Fe 2017-Final Voting

Thousands of Santa Fe Reporter readers nominate their picks for the Best of Santa Fe. Final voting is now open, and continues through May 31.

Adobe Gallery is in the running and you can participate!

The ballot features the top nominees in each category. The top three will be honored as the Best of Santa Fe 2017. 

Would you please vote for Adobe Gallery?

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Make sure to follow @BestofSantaFe for updates.

Please vote for Adobe Gallery - click here

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Once there, simply scroll down the page and you will see: 

Best Gallery

Click on this for a drop-down menu and VOTE for Adobe Gallery!!!

Each of these Matched Pair of Demitasse Silver and Turquoise Spoons has a stamped design on the handle and a small stamped design in the bowl at the point where the handle meets the bowl.  Each also has a small sky blue turquoise cab inserted on the handle.

These are perfect for dropping a dollop of cream in your espresso or a small scoop of sugar in your coffee or tea.

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Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo has a long history of producing plainware pottery of the most striking beauty. There are several vessel shapes and styles that are traditional to the potters of the pueblo. Large storage jars are globular in shape and traditionally slipped with red clay on the upper half and with no slip on the lower half. Large dough bowls are generally slipped in the same manner, with red slip on the upper half and without slip on the lower.

Serving bowls tend to be of two styles.  Both styles feature concave rims that flare out at the top.  Some of these have red slip applied to the top few inches on the exterior of the rim and others on the interior of the rim.  Those with red slip on the interior, such as this bowl, generally have a rim that flares outward slightly more than the rim of one decorated on the exterior.  The rim on this bowl is scalloped on its edges. The interior of the bowl is without slip and has a stone-polished finish.  The bottom of the bowl is flat.

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This is a major presentation by Tonita Peña of a Corn Dance Celebration, with 17 participants.  The procession is led by a banner carrier and trailed by a drummer and five chanters.  The dancers are paired by two men, followed by two women, followed by two men and followed by two women.  There are two Koosa Clowns.  San Ildefonso celebrates the Corn Dance in September, harvest time.

Peña's usual treatment is concerned with several dance figures in a line led by a Corn Dance Banner Carrier and followed by a drummer, as shown in this painting. Generally, there are women in her paintings, as shown here, and, as a rule, these women are taking a definite part in the dance as shown in the sensitive action of the feet.  She presented the men with more active steps. This type of action, peculiar to Peña, is well illustrated here.

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According to O'odham oral history, the man-in-the-maze labyrinth design depicts experiences and choices we make in our journey through life. In the middle of the "maze," a person finds his or her dreams and goals. When one reaches the center, there is one final opportunity (the last turn in the design) to look back upon our choices and path, before the Sun God greets us, blesses us and passes us into the next world.

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Adobe Gallery's enormously popular exhibit "A CENTURY OF PUEBLO PAINTERS: SAN ILDEFONSO PUEBLO 1900-1999" has been expanded and extended through the summer of 2017 by popular demand.

Adobe Gallery will host a reception on Friday, May 12 from 5 to 7 p.m. to showcase new additions to the exhibit and give locals and visitors another chance to enjoy this historically significant collection of paintings.

This event is part of the Canyon Road Spring Arts Festival, which will feature gallery openings and artist demonstrations all weekend long.  On the afternoon of Saturday, May 13, Adobe will host three Native artists: Myron Denetclaw (Diné- Navajo Nation), Lorraine Gala-Lewis (Laguna-Taos-Hopi), and Carol Gala (Laguna-Taos-Hopi).  

Please join us for an exciting weekend on historic Canyon Road.   

Maria Poveka Martinez (1887-1980) and Julian Martinez (1885-1943) worked together producing pottery from the early 1900s-she making the beautiful Tewa shape vessels and he painting beautiful designs in traditional Polychrome style.  Because Maria was considered the best potter at San Ildefosno Pueblo, she was selected to experiment on reproducing the prehistoric wares being excavated at nearby ruins.  She and Julian worked diligently for several years to recreate the earlier pottery style and Julian painted designs in the traditional Polychrome style.  It was not until around 1912, that they became interested in experimenting with the blackware of previous periods.  It was another 10 years before they achieved satisfactory results. 

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This is an extraordinarily large canteen from Zia Pueblo, created most probably in the first quarter of the twentieth century. This fine piece is coil-formed in native clay with the addition of crushed basaltic temper. The underbody is stone-polished red-slipped paste in a warm brick red color. A very wide red band is wiped on as a dividing line between the underbody and the decorated upper body, and it encompasses both handles and the spout. 

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This black stone-polished jar by Angela Baca was awarded a First Premium award at the New Mexico State Fair in 1974.

Angela Baca started making pottery professionally around 1955 and continued for the next fifty years or so.  She was the daughter of Severa Tafoya (1890-1973) who was the sister of Van Gutierrez of the Lela and Van Gutierrez family.  Angela followed in her mother's style of shape and design.  They both became famous for melon jars and bear paw jars. 

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When one visits the Hopi villages to witness a Katsina Dance in the plaza, it is generally the culmination of a 9-day ceremony that has been secretly on-going in the kiva and not open to the public. This is a kiva scene pictured by Raymond Naha (1933-1975). A drummer is beating his drum and a chanter is singing.  The young men sitting around are probably initiates.  There is a bowl and ladle next to the drummer that probably contains sacred cornmeal or other medicine.  The basket on the floor appears to hold smoking pipes and a feather.  On the kiva wall is painted a Rainbow Man and a Hopi boy.  Other items hang on the wall.

Hopi-Tewa artist Raymond Naha was born in the village of Polacca, which is at the foot of First Mesa, on the Hopi Reservation in Arizona on December 5, 1933. He studied under Fred Kabotie at Oraibi High School. Kabotie recognized Naha's talent and encouraged him to continue his studies. Naha then took correspondence courses and studied at the Phoenix Indian School, which was the end of his formal art education.  His progress from then was purely self-motivated.  

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The Hemis and Sio Hemis Katsinas are probably the most beautiful and best known of all Hopi Katsinas. Their elaborate headdress, called a tableta, is partly responsible for their attraction. They both wear a kilt, and around the waist a Hopi embroidered sash.

These katsinas appear in the Home Dance or Niman Ceremony. No other katsinas, neither clowns nor side dancers appear with the line of Hemis except the Hemis Manas. It is interesting to note that at Hopi, they refer to the Sio Hemis Katsina as having come from the Rio Grande Jemez Pueblo of New Mexico. At Jemez Pueblo, they refer to a similar dance as a Hopi dance.

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This untitled oil pastel is part of Jaune Quick-To-See Smith's Camus series, which was completed around 1980.  Geometric shapes of squares, triangles, rectangles, human and animal figures, and pastel and dark colors combine for a striking image.

The image was painted on handmade paper which has been framed so that the full view of the paper is visible. 

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Marie has been a constant winner at Santa Fe Indian Market since 1984.  She has participated in Santa Fe Indian Market, Inter-tribal Indian Ceremonial in Gallup, and Eight Northern Indian Pueblos Arts & Crafts Show.

This jewel of a dish was constructed of traditional San Ildefonso clay and temper agent and highlighted with micaceous clay.  Half the feathers are natural beige slip with micaceous highlights; and the other half are micaceous slip with a darker slip color.  The center is a beautiful dark red stone-polished slip on which floats a beautiful oblong turquoise cab.

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The Lakota are the western-most of the three Sioux groups, occupying lands in both North and South Dakota. The Lakota were originally referred to as the Dakota when they lived by the great lakes, however, because of European settlement they were pushed away from the great lakes region and later called themselves the Lakota which became part of the Sioux. 

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Jean has a very artistic style of creating designs on pottery. She does not hesitate to select parts of traditional Sikyatki design elements and to arrange them in a most artistic and pleasing manner. The designs she chose for this jar are selections from Sikyatki pottery and appear to be bird-like in form with an insect added as a surprise element. Her arrangement of the design in a non-structured pattern provides for interesting viewing. The canteen is decorated on front.  It is provided with a twisted rawhide strap for use in hanging.  It sits upright in a secure manner.  It is signed J. Sahme Nampeyo.

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