Wilfred Garcia
Acoma
White Corn
5 3/4"
H x 7 3/4" D
Wilfred Garcia, Jr. was born
in 1954 into the Acoma Pueblo. He was inspired to learn the art
of working with clay from his mother-in-law, the late Stella
Shutiva.
She taught him all the fundamentals
of working with clay and using the ancient traditional methods
that have been passed down from generation to generation. Wilfred
was very artistically inclined as a young boy and thus sparked
his interest in pursuing a career as a pottery artisan.
Wilfred has established himself
as a fine contemporary pottery artisan. He gathers clumps of
natural clays from within the Acoma Pueblo. He breaks down the
clumps into a fine powder form which he hand mixes with sand
and water to temper the clay. Then, he rolls his moist clay into
snake like coils and begins building his pottery into the desired
shape.
He creates many shapes of
pottery vessels such as: seedpots, vases, and Mesa Verde motif
vases with ladders. Once his vessels are built he sets them out
to dry. Once his formed pottery vessels are dry he sands them
down for a smooth finish. Finally, Wilfred fires his pottery
in a kiln.
He signs his pottery as: WGarcia,
Acoma.
Wilfred states: Making
pottery for over 12 years has given me joy and love for my art.
I take my time with every piece that I construct so that each
piece is special.
He is related to: Jackie Histia-Shutiva
(sister-in-law) and Sandra Garcia (spouse).
Publications:
-Southern Pueblo Pottery 2,000 Artist Biographies
-Beyond Tradition
-Southwestern Pottery Anasazi to Zuni
-American Indian Art
Awards:
-Santa Fe Indian Market Best In Show
-Santa Fe Indian Market 1st, 2nd, & 3rd Place