Margaret Tafoya
Santa Clara
Redware Vase
6 1/2"
H x 6 1/4" D
Margaret Tafoya, (1904 - 2001)
was the last of the matriarchs of the early 20th century pueblo
potters. Born at Santa Clara Pueblo, Margaret learned her skills
from her parents, Sara Fina and Geronimo Tafoya, who were expert
potters; some of her pieces are inspired by tales she heard from
her parents and grandparents. Her mother was an expert of large
black ware and red ware storage jars with a highly-polished finish.
She collaborated with her
mother until her death in 1949, and then carried on working in
the traditional style. Tafoya is considered a master of the art.
She made deeply carved blackware and redware vessels which are
highly valued by collectors.
Margaret and her mother were
known for their ability to make unusually large storage jars
and water jars. Tafoya's trademark is polished blackware. Her
work is often decorated with bearpaw designs, which she considered
good luck.
As time went on, she experimented,
producing thinner, lighter pots, with increasingly graceful forms.
Her stone polish became more lustrous and mirror-like. She believed
the secret to her technique were her polishing stones, which
have been passed down through the generations. Tafoya taught
her children, Virginia Ebelacker, Mela Youngblood, Toni Roller,
and Esther Archuleta, her pottery-making skills.
A National Heritage Fellow,
National Endowment for the Arts Folk Arts Program (1984). In
1985, Margaret Tafoya was one of three New Mexicans selected
to receive the Governors Award, New Mexico's highest artistic
honor, awarded for a major contribution to the arts of New Mexico.
