Taos Art School
LUCY LEWIS TRADITIONAL POTTERY MAKING |
Emma & Monica Lewis
Daughter & Grand daughter
of Lucy Lewis
Please Note: We are extraordinarily privileged to be abe to spend time with one of the tribes matriarchs, Emma Lewis. Because of her advanced age, there are two unique features involved in registering for this experience. First, the class will be limited to 10 people in order not to tax the energy of our teacher. Secondly, all perspective participants need to realize that this class will be canceled if Emma does not feel up to teaching. In the event that this happens, full tuition will be refunded. Participants are strongly encouraged to arrange for refundable airline tickets, as well as hotel accommodations. As there will be no school refund for these two expenses. Please call the office to discuss this further before you register. There is NO substitute teacher who could possibly fill in for Emma.
Check our Schedule for dates
(Feel free to call for details)
Tuition: $765, Materials: $50,
Traditional Feast: $35.
Beginning to Advanced
Class
limited to 10 participants
Optional Acoma Pueblo Tour: Approximately $15 per person paid to Pueblo at time of tour. |
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"We consider
our pots
to have a life of their own."
~ Lucy Lewis |
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 Lucy
Lewis is regarded as the matriarch of Acoma pottery and
alongside Maria Martinez, is one of the best known Southwestern
potters. She started making pottery around the turn of
the century, continuing a tradition dating back hundreds,
if not thousands of years.
We are extraordinarily privileged to have
Lucy's daughter
lead us in this workshop. Emma is dedicated
to using the authentic processes and techniques that have
been traditional to Acoma potters for centuries. She
will lead us through each of the time honored steps necessary
to the creation of authentic Acoma pottery. After demonstrating
their methods, she will give us a lot of personal attention
as we prepare the clay, tools, and paints, and then begin
our traditional pottery making experience.
This experience
is dedicated to the authentic processes and techniques
that have been traditional to Puebloan Potters for Centuries.
You will be led through each time-honored step necessary
to create authentic pottery. Along the way we will share
stories of the Ancestors, for these experiences are as
much about Culture as they are about Clay. In these classes,
you will:
• Work with Native Clay Bodies, dug by your teacher from the same clay pits used by Lucy Lewis.
• Hand form 2 small pots with the coil/slab method which are
then highly burnished with a smooth river stone and slipped with white kaolin.
• Create your very own ‘yucca brush’ from the rib of the Yucca plant, about 4 " long, with one end chewed to form a brush. This sounds primitive, but it is actually the most efficient way to paint a straight line on a curved surface.
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Lucy Lewis, ca. 1950 |
• Paint Traditional designs on your pots, using both mineral and vegetal paints you will learn to grind by hand, using a Metate.
• Fire your pots, with traditional open-pit firing, using either cow-dung or wood chips.
• Participants in this class will take home some fine, small examples of this magnificent pottery, made with our own hands.
View a National Geographic Article: Pueblo Pottery, 1982
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Feel free to Call us for more Information about this wonderful workshop.
We love to chat about our classes. |
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The photo above is by Edward Curtis ca. 1890.
The Acoma women make the daily trip to the cistern of rain water.
To gather water for their families.
The pottery they made was essential for the survival of their families.
About Acoma - "Sky City"
More about Acoma at Wikipedia
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CLASS SCHEDCULE FOR LUCY LEWIS POTTERY WORKSHOP © 2013 |
Sun |
Mon |
Tue |
Wed |
Thur |
Fri |
Sat |
Optional
Santo Domingo Pueblo*
CORN
DANCE
2 - 5 PM
Check in
to lodging
5:30 - 6:30
Reception
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9 AM
class starts
Form
1st
Pot
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Finish
Painting
Pots are overnight
in Kiln
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AM
Pick up dry pots
Drive to Acoma
3PM Optional Tour of Acoma
7PM Traditional Feast
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Kachina
Lodging |
Kachina
Lodging |
Kachina
Lodging |
Kachina
Lodging |
Kachina
Lodging |
Sky City
Lodging |
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NOTES ON SCHEDULE
Sunday: You have the option of attending the Traditional Corn Dance of San Lorenzo at Santo Domingo Pueblo. This will undoubtedly mean coming in a day early (Saturday), on your own, perhaps staying in either Santa Fe or Albuquerque, to arrive at Santo Domingo early Sunday morning. This is not an official part of the class experience, but we highy reccommend that you plan to attend, since you will be in the area.
This centuries old event, honoring the Corn Mother who feeds us all, features beautiful, costumed dancers, their feet bared for direct contact with Mother Earth. This event will be seen continuously from 10 AM – around 3 PM since there are 2 Pueblo groups which alternate: Turquoise Group & Pumpkin Group. There are many booths with traditional food for sale, as well as art & craft items to purchase. Because Santo Domingo Pueblo is located near the ancient Cerrillos turquoise mines, the village people have a distinguished history of making fine jewelry and heishi. The Santo Domingo people are still great traders, very much like their Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon ancestors. Many roadside stands with jewelry, pottery and silverwork for sale can be found during a visit to this pueblo. Look for these special items and others during the Festivals. NOTE: Photography is not permitted at this sacred event. Also, Both Men & Women are requested not to wear shorts. Bring a Hat.
You will be largely on your own this day, driving to the Pueblo on your own and then driving up to Taos for the Meet-and-Greet at 5:30. Some only wish to stay for the morning ceremonies while others may choose to remain for the entire day of Ceremonies and Shopping.
Click here for an article about the Corn Dance: http://www.nytimes.com/1984/07/22/travel/a-timeless-pueblo-ritual.html?pagewanted=print
Getting to Santo Domingo Pueblo: http://www.gomapper.com/travel/directions-from/santa-fe-to-santo-domingo-pueblo.html
Reception: An opening reception will be held at the Katchina Lodge.Your teachers will be in attendance, dressed in Traditional Dress, and introductions will be made. Family members and friends traveling with students are welcome to attend. Afterward, students may break up into groups, or travel as individuals to several nearby restaurants. There is a full service restaurant in the hotel for those who have had enough travel for one day !
Class times: Class will be from 9-4 each day with a lunch break to go to one of several nearby restaurants. Students also have the option to bring a snack/lunch to eat in the clay studio.
Friday: We pick up our dry pots early and then students drive individually in their own cars to Acoma, 5-6 hours SW of Taos. We meet for an optional tour of the Village of Acoma, then check into your hotel.
We re-group for the Traditional Feast in the evening.
Getting to Acoma Pueblo: http://sccc.acomaskycity.org/getting-here/
Saturday: We gather once again for the Early morning Firing Demonstration. We should be finished by
11-noon, depending on the vagaries of the weather.
Sunday:
Drive Times: The Santo Domingo Pueblo is located 25 miles south of Santa Fe, off I-25 at the Santo Domingo exit. The drive is approx 2 hours South of Taos, and, one half an hour SW of Santa Fe. Drive time from Acoma Pueblo to the Albuquerque Airport is approx. 3-4 hours S/E
Lodging: Students need to arrange for their own lodging during this unique experience. The first 5 nights are recommended at the Best Western Kachina Lodge in Taos. The last 1-2 nights are recommended at the Sky City Casino in Acoma.
About Acoma - "Sky City"
More about Acoma at Wikipedia
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Learn More
About Lucy Lewis |
AMERICAN INDIAN POTTER
Lucy M. Lewis
by Susan Peterson
The Acoma pueblo is the oldest continuously inhabited settlement
in North America. This Indian community, which probably dates
back over a millennium, was home to one of America's most talented
and innovative potters-Lucy M Lewis (d. 1992). Born around the
turn of the century, Lewis rose from humble origins to become
one of the most important craftsperson's of this century. As
mother, matriarch, and artist, she created a monumental statement
of her society. She absorbed the work of her Indian ancestors,
and from their ancient designs fashioned a modern sensibility
that brought Indian pottery into the twentieth century.
She began making pots at an early age, teaching herself from
shards she had found around her home. With age, practice, and
a keen eye came perfection, and eventually admirers. Her pieces
are now in the collections of prominent museums in New York,
Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, as well as throughout the
Southwest.
Susan Peterson's intimate biography is a major accomplishment.
It captures the essence of this inspirational women with candor
and affection. Over 220 color plates (and 120 black-and-white
photos) convey the life and work of Lucy and her family. Lucy
M. Lewis: American Indian Potter not only offers insights into
the sources and milieu of Lewis' vast talent, but documents
the achievements of one of America's greatest native craftswomen.
For Further Reading about
The Lucy Lewis Family:
- Generations in Clay: Pueblo Pottery of the American Southwest,
by Alfred E. Dittert, Jr., Fred Plog
- ACOMA: Pueblo in the Sky, by Ward Alan Minge
- Acoma & Laguna Pottery, by Rick Dillingham
- ACOMA: People of the White Rock, by H.L. James
- Women Artists: Works from the National Museum of Women
in the Arts
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Daughters of the Anasazi:
Lucy Lewis, Emma Lewis Mitchell, Delores Lewis Garcia
Produced and Directed by John Anthony
Length: 28 minutes.VHS tape available used on Amazon.com. Or you can get the DVD at http://www.amaco.com/shop/product-316-daughters-of-the-anasazi.html
More and more I find myself drawn to ceramic videos dealing with historical subjects or traditional ways of working. This well-produced video is one of those, focusing on the work of Lucy Lewis and her daughters Emma Lewis Mitchell and Delores Lewis Garcia, Acoma pueblo potters. As they carry on the pottery traditions of the Anasazi Indians, who inhabited the Chaco Canyon region of New Mexico until 1300 AD, we see the painstaking production of their ceramic vessels and hear the rationale for their methods.
Clay is dug from the hills, carried home, and stone ground by hand. Centuries-old Anasazi pot shards are pounded to bits for grog, literally incorporating the old into the new. Pinch and coil methods are used for construction; everything is slipped and burnished preparatory to painting, and then the pots are decorated.
Paints are produced from hand-selected and ground rocks, mixed with water and a binder made of wild spinach juice and the Rocky Mountain bee plant. Brushes come from the yucca plant (well chewed for added
softness). These traditional methods of production give the pots their spirit, it is said. The painting is elaborate, intricate and beautiful, using symbols referring to "Mother Nature", and designs both traditional and individual. Then the pots are fired in cow dung, cleaned, and sold. It's like "giving away one's babies," we are told by one of the artists.
A very interesting film recommended for both potters and non-potters.
Reviewed by Richard Aerni. Studio Potter Network Newsletter, Autumn, 1992.
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TAOS ART SCHOOL
P.O. BOX 2588, TAOS, NEW MEXICO, 87571
(575) 758-0350
http://taosartschool.org
Web site created and maintained by: AngelStar Creations
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