Dorothy Torivio
Acoma
Starburst
Vase
6" H
x 5" D
Dorothy is well known for
her eye dazzling pottery with myriads of design. We've all seen
the shooting stars and pollen flower motifs, but this is the
first "star within a star" that we've seen, and we're
excited to present it here.
Dorothy's pottery exhibits
an almost eggshell like quality and is very light to the touch.
This requires an expert ability to construct, polish, and fire
these vessels without any damage. It's no wonder Dorothy is world
famous for these extremely fine seed pots!
Dorothy Torivio was born in
1946 into the Acoma Pueblo. She is one of Acoma’s finest
potters. She travels all over the U.S. demonstrating her skills.
She has been making abstract
designs on pottery since 1974. Dorothy would observe her Mother,
Mary Valley, make pottery at a very young age. However, Dorothy
was self taught and did not receive any direct instruction from
her.
Dorothy specializes in Acoma
hand coiled abstract pottery. She got the idea one day, back
in 1982, to paint a design and repeat it over and over again
on the shape of the pot. Dorothy basically combines the traditional
pottery with her own penchant for the kinetic image, and thus
creates an eye catching swirl design that contains both radiating
and spiral motion.
She uses a chewed yucca stalk
that she fashions into a brush to paint with. Dorothy breaks
off only what she needs so that the plant is not damaged and
since it comes from Mother earth, it’s free.
Dorothy says “I love
the travel and expressing myself about my pottery, it creates
inspiration for the younger artists out there.”
Among the many relatives,
Sandra Victorino (niece) is one following her footsteps.
Awards:
-New Mexico State Fair
-Heard Museum Show
-Santa Fe Indian Market
-Eighth Northern Arts and Crafts Show
Publications:
-Southern Pueblo Pottery 2,000 Artist Biographies
-Art of Clay by Lee Cohen
-Talking With The Clay by Stephen Trimble
-Southwestern Pottery Anasazi by Hayes/Blom
-Beyond Tradition by Lois Essary Jacka
Permanent Collections:
-Heard Museum Permanent Art Collection
-Albuquerque International Airport Collection
-Washington D.C.
