Wright's Indian Art > Pottery > Santa Clara Pottery

Santa Clara pottery is almost a synonym for black ware, these days. Santa Clara Pueblo, north of Santa Fe, along the Rio Grande, is currently one of the most prolific and dynamic of pottery producing communities, but black pottery style did not originate in Santa Clara. It was Maria and Julian Martinez, of San Ildefonso who revived the style of black pottery, over a hundred years ago. Today, however, Santa Clara is known for far more prize-winning black pottery artists. Prominent families of noted Santa Clara potters include the Naranjo, Tafoya, and Garcia families, among many others, and their work is not confined to just black wares.

Black pottery is created out of ordinary buff-colored or red clay, which is arranged in an outdoor firing pit, just as all traditional Native pottery is. When the fire is "at the hottest", according to one of our artists, a load of powdered, dried horse or sheep manure is dumped on the fire, smothering the flames and creating a kind of oven. There is a chemical reaction that turns the pots irrevocably black - unlike a simple soot covering, the black is permanent and won't rub off.

Plain, carved, incised or painted, the inky gleam of stone-polished black pottery, as well as all other styles from Santa Clara, attract purists, modernists and all lovers of fine pottery.