Zuni Pueblo Pottery

Contemporary Lizard Applique Zuni Pot by Deldrick & Lorenda Cellicion

The Zuni pueblo is the largest of the 19 pueblos surviving pueblos of New Mexico, it is also the most remote and isolated.   Zuni pottery production which dates back for centuries faded to near extinction by the 1950's as it was replaced by a robust cottage industry of jewelry inlay and fetish carving which today are the predominate products created by tribal members.   The resurgence of the pottery tradition among the Zuni was ushered in as a result of pottery classes introduced at the Zuni High School in the 1960s.  

Micaceous Pots by George Garcia

Glittery flecks of mica are found in many natural clay deposits in the Rio Grande region of Northern New Mexico.    This sparkling clay has been used by Native Americans of the region as far back as 1300 AD.  When properly cured,  mica vessels can be used for cooking, but are now more commonly collected as decor items readily recognized by their distinctive sheen.  George Gonzales, a Native American potter from Northern New Mexico,  says of his work,  "With my hands I take my Mother Earth and give her shape. The heat from my Father, the sun, gives her life and the rainbow of my New Mexico sunset gives color to her child. Every piece I make is a piece not taken away but placed in my life and with the blessing of the Great Spirit I live.  The clay tells you what it wants you to do with it.You create the shape with each coil. It is more personal when you make a pot that can sit on its own without any decoration. Then you have something."