Wright's Indian Art > Artist: Melissa Antonio (Acoma Pueblo)

This fine potter is known for her "crossword puzzle" interpretation of the traditional Acoma fine-line design. Instead of lines, she paints hundreds of tiny black squares on the pure white clay of the area. Usually, the squares are graduated, from smaller at the top and bottom to larger around the widest part of the pot. This subtly accentuates the swelling curves of the olla, or water vessel pot.

She often breaks up the all-over design with a diagonal band of Kokopelli figures, climbing up one side of the pot. Her exceptional skill, as well as the designs, are similar to that of her cousin and sister-in-law, Frederica Antonio. Both learned from their mother-in-law, Mildred Antonio.