Grace Medicine Flower, Santa Clara Pueblo Potter

Santa Clara Pueblo artist Grace Medicine Flower is best known today for her beautifully carved pottery bowls and jars with extensive sgraffito designs. She had her beginning with small traditional black pottery with designs such as the Avanyu water serpent. As with all truly talented artists, innovation soon overtook the traditional and Medicine Flower created her masterpieces.

Grace Medicine Flower (1938 - ) is a member of the renowned Tafoya Family of Santa Clara Pueblo.  This whole family of potters has excelled as artists. Grace has mastered the techniques of sgraffito carving and taken it to a new level. She has a delicate touch and achieves a delicate balance.  Her grandmother was Sara Fina Tafoya.  Her parents were Camilio Sunflower Tafoya and Agapita Yellow Flower Tafoya.  Her brother is the equally famous Joseph Lonewolf. 

Camilio, Joseph and Grace worked together in the early years of their profession.  It was not until the late 1960s that they began the sgraffito-style of design.  It wasn't until after the early 1960s that Medicine Flower expanded her style to include sgraffito design.   Medicine Flower has been making sgraffito-style pottery so long now that it is not an easy task to find earlier pottery of the more traditional black carved style. 

She signs her pieces Grace Medicine Flower Santa Clara.or just her name and a hallmark flower symbol.

TAGS: Santa Clara Pueblo, Sara Fina Tafoya, Camilio Sunflower Tafoya Agapita Yellow Flower Tafoya, Joseph Lonewolf