Juanita Inez Ortiz, Cochiti Pueblo Potter

It is traditional for pueblo potters to teach their children the art of pottery making starting at an early age. Cochiti Pueblo artist Juanita Inez Ortiz (1960 -2008) Mapuwana - Wild Rose learned pottery making from her mother, Seferina, and her grandmother, Laurencita Herrera. Inez's siblings, all of whom are potters, are Virgil, Joyce, and Janice (mother of Lisa Holt). She remained with traditional designs and shapes much like her mother and unlike that of Virgil and Lisa.

"I make all kinds of things: bears, nativity sets, miniatures, storyteller figurines, owls, turtles, and clay drums. I mold the ‘couple' pieces [a man and woman together] in different sizes. I'm also into the ceramics to make some things easier. I go back to the traditional because people like it." - Inez Ortiz, (Dillingham 1994, page 127)

References:

- Southern Pueblo Pottery: 2,000 Artist Biographies by Gregory Schaaf

- Fourteen Families In Pueblo Pottery, by Rick Dillingham

TAGS: Cochiti Pueblo, pottery making, Seferina Ortiz, Laurencita Herrera, Virgil Ortiz, Lisa Holt