Grounded in Clay: The Spirit of Pueblo Pottery

nNo art form is more associated with the Native Americans nof the Southwest than pottery. For centuries, Pueblo people have made beautiful npottery, often painted with intricate designs, for everyday activities such as ncooking, food storage and gathering water, and for ceremonial use. Vessels of nthese types have been found at ancient sites including Chaco Canyon and Mesa nVerde. The tradition of pottery-making continues to thrive among Pueblo ncommunities in the Southwest, and while pottery is still made for practical npurposes, it is also commonly produced for the art market. Since the ntime of the Ancestral nPuebloans, pottery has been made predominantly by women. The pots are ncreated from natural clay using a coil method; they are hand-painted and then nfired outdoors. Designs vary from one Pueblo to another, but many symbols and nmotifs are shared by the Pueblos. nn n n nAn impressive survey of more than 100 pieces of historic Pueblo npottery, Grounded in Clay is remarkable for the fact that its content nhas been selected by Pueblo community members. Rather than relying on Anglo-American nart historical interpretations, this book foregrounds Native American voices nand perspectives. More than 60 participants from 21 Pueblo communities in the nSouthwest - among them potters and other artists, as well as writers, curators nand community leaders - chose one or two pieces from the collections of the Indian nArts Research Center at the School of Advanced Research in Santa Fe, New nMexico, and the Vilcek Collection in New York. They were then given the freedom nto express their thoughts in whichever written form they wished, prose or poem. nTheir lively, varied contributions reveal the pottery to be not only a nutilitarian art form but also a powerfully intangible element that sits at the nheart of Pueblo cultures. With magnificent photography throughout, Grounded nin Clay showcases the extraordinary history and beauty of Pueblo pottery nwhile bringing to life the complex narratives and stories of this most nessential of Native American arts.n