Karen Naranjo
Santa Clara
Butterfly
Seed Pot
1 3/4"
H x 3 3/4" D
Karen Naranjo-Samaniego was
born into the Navajo tribe in 1967. Karen began creating Santa
Clara pottery at the age of 19.
Karen attended Brigham Young
University and decided to take a break from college for the summer
and visit her father, Wilson Price, Jr., in Santa Fe, N.M. During
her visit, she met Forrest Naranjo and they eventually married.
Bernice Suazo-Naranjo (ex
mother-in-law) taught Karen & Forrest the fundamentals of
working with clay. Continuing long lived traditions is extremely
important to Karen.
She stated “I practice
my skills as a potter, because a part of myself goes into every
piece of art which I create. Thus, I am adding to the long lived
legacy of my ancestors.”
Karen gathers her clay from
the Santa Clara Pueblo. She breaks the clumps of clay to a fine
powder form and mixes clay with other natural pigments. Karen
hand forms and hand polishes every piece she makes. She also
fires her pottery the traditional way, outdoors. Mother Earth
provides her with all the ingredients to allow her to make her
own art.
Karen signs her pottery as:
Karen Naranjo Samaniego.
Publications:
-Southwestern Pottery Anasazi
to Zuni
-Pueblo Indian Pottery 750 Artist Biographies
-Collections of Southwestern Pottery
Awards:
-New Mexico State Fair
-Santa Fe Indian Market
-Pueblo Grand, Phoenix, AZ
-Haskel Indian Market, Lawrence, KS
