Pueblo Pottery

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Katherine Poleviyaoma painting her pottery

Pueblo artisans are recognized around the world for their pottery. Beautiful hand-built pots and small sculpted animals, all painstakingly decorated using traditional dyes and brushes (made from human hair), are common examples of this art form. Katherine Poleviyaoma imports clay from her Pueblo home, using centuries-old techniques to build and decorate her traditional pottery. Her husband and son, Darrel and Darrell Jr., also assist in the creation of new pieces with his knowledge of these traditional skills. Katherine has a personal photo archive of all pieces she has created over the years and maintains an extensive sketchbook of design ideas for new pieces, ideas being inspired by life events and even dreams.

Salamander Plate

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Salamander Plate by Katherine Poleviyaoma, State of Utah Alice Merrill Horne Art Collection, 1999

When firing pieces in the traditional manner, Katherine and her family will build an earth kiln and carefully tend it to bring the pottery to life. Traditional Acoma pottery has a common set of aesthetics and color choices with symbolic meaning; for example: fine lines = rain, black = clouds or mountains, white = earth, orange = sun. In this piece, the black salamander in center is a sign of good luck that foretells rain.

"Water is Life"

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Water is Life Pueblo Pottery by Katherine Poleviyaoma, State of Utah Alice Merrill Horne Art Collection, 2018

This is an Acoma Pueblo clay vessel for water storage with a wide body tapering into thinner neck; black, white and dark red repetitive designs feature throughout. This piece won the Utah State Fair Best of Show: Senior Citizen Creative Arts 2016.