Dolores Lewis
Acoma
Zig Zag Vase
6 1/2"
H x 7 3/4" D
Dolores Lewis was born in
1938 into the Acoma Sky City Pueblo. She is one of the daughters
of the world renowned late, Lucy M. Lewis.
Dolores has been around great
pottery artists her whole life, however, her greatest inspiration
came down from her mother, Lucy. Dolores was a self taught artisan,
she learned the ancient traditional methods of working with clay
by carefully observing Lucy construct her beautiful pottery vessels.
Dolores chose to continue
the long lived tradition of working with pottery, and using the
ancient methods passed down to her from her grandmothers because
of the importance to keep her peoples traditions alive. Dolores
gathers her own natural pigments and clays from the clay pits
within the Acoma Pueblo. She cleans her clay for impurities by
hand, then, she hand mixes, hand coils, hand paints, and uses
a traditional firing method to add the finishing touch to her
wonderful masterpieces which mother earth has blessed her with.
The Lewis family keeps the
same patterns and does not move to a contemporary style because
it is very important to them to keep alive true traditions and
designs of the ancient mimbres people alive.
Some of these designs which
are replicated are the deer with a heartline, lightning bolt
pattern, and the many variations of the mimbres patterns. Lucy
was the driving force behind the revival of pottery making as
an art in the Pueblo of the Acoma. Dolores is also related to
Emma Lewis-Mitchell, Carmel Lewis (sisters), and Drew Lewis (brother).
Publications:
-Southern Pueblo Pottery 2,000
Artist Biographies
-Fourteen Families in pueblo pottery
-Southwestern pottery Anasazi to Zuni
-Talking with the Clay
-American Indian Pottery 2nd Edition
-Seven Families in Pueblo Pottery
Awards:
-Santa Fe Indian Market Various
1st, 2nd, and 3rd Place numerous years
-Eight Northern 1st various years
-Heard Museum show
-New Mexico State Fair
-Others received too many to list