Ambrose Atencio
Santo Domingo
Southern Star
9" H
x 8 1/2" D
Ambrose Atencio was born into
the Santo Domingo Pueblo on June 11, 1963. He learned the art
of working with clay by observing his family members who were
fine established artisans.
He was taught all the fundamentals
of working with clay using the ancient traditional methods. Ambrose
continues to practice his methods of hand coiling pottery to
preserve the ancient traditional way of his ancestors and adds
to their legacy.
He specializes in hand coiled,
hand painted traditional Santo Domingo pottery. He gathers all
his raw materials such as clay, sand, and natural plants from
within the Santo Domingo Pueblo.
He hand cleans the clay for
impurities, mixes all the natural pigments with water, and begins
hand coiling his vessels. Once the pottery is dry he sands the
finished product to give it a smooth finish all around the vessel.
Ambrose then begins to hand
paint his beautiful designs with a stem of a yucca that has been
fashioned into a brush. The colors he uses on his designs are
also provided from plants such as: spinach plant and honey bee
wax.
His designs are usually the
traditional bird, flowers, or geometric designs. He sets his
pottery out to dry and then fires his masterpieces the traditional
way, outdoors. He signs his pottery as: Ambrose Atencio Kewa,
Santo Domingo Pueblo, and the year it was constructed.
He is related to the following
artists: Hilda Coriz (sister), Arthur Coriz (late brother-in-law),
Robert Tenorio (uncle), and Ione Coriz (cousin).