Michael Naranjo, Santa Clara Pueblo Artist

Santa Clara Pueblo artist Michael Naranjo saw and learned all that the Northern New Mexico landscape had to offer in terms of nature and beauty as a boy growing up in Taos, New Mexico. However, Michael Naranjo was rendered blind by a grenade in Vietnam in the late 1960s. The explosion also took away the use of his right hand.

After attending a school for the blind in California, Michael Naranjo began to live his life on his own, learning how to manage with his disability. Not be deterred, it was at that time that he began to try his hand at sculpting. It was difficult at first, but over time, his intuitiveness, and his familiarity with his subject matter before he lost his sight helped him become a master sculptor. Michael Naranjo is remarkable because, while he can't see the ends of traditional sculpting tools, he is able to use his fingernails to fashion the clay of his pieces before the bronze casting process.

Michael Naranjo was born in 1944, and one of ten kids of Santa Clara potter Rose Naranjo, the uncle of sculptor Roxanne Swentzell, and the brother of Jody Folwell and Rina Swentzell, who are also potters.

Reference: Pueblo Indian Pottery: 750 Artist Biographies by Gregory Schaaf.

TAGS: Rose Naranjo, Roxanne Swentzell, Jody Folwell, Taos Pueblo, Santa Clara Pueblo, Kha'p'oo Owinge, Bronze Sculpture