Glendora Fragua is a member
of the Corn Clan from the Jemez Pueblo. She was born in September
of 1958. She began the art of working with natural clays and
slips in 1976.
She is the daughter of well
known Jemez potter Juanita Fragua and her siblings are potter
BJ Fragua and sculptor Clifford Fragua.
She was taught all the fundamentals
of constructing pottery vessels the ancient traditional way of
hand coiling, pinching, and firing outdoors by members of the
Jemez Pueblo which have been passed down from generation to generation.
Glendora continues to use
all naturals pigments and slips to construct her masterpieces.
She specializes in hand coiled sgraffito vessels. She gathers
all her clumps of clay and other natural plants and vegetation
from within the Jemez Pueblo.
Once, she has gathered all
of her materials she breaks down the clumps of clay into a fine
powder form and hand mixes with water and other natural minerals
to a fine medium and begins to construct her vessels by using
the ancient method of hand coiled and hand pinching the clay.
When the vessels are constructed
she sets them out to dry and when they are dried she hand sands
her pieces to give them a smooth finish. Then, she begins to
hand carve lizards, turtles, feathers, kiva steps, flowers, butterflies,
corn stalks, and geometric designs.
She fires her pieces and then
accents her vessels with authentic turquoise or coral stones.
She is a highly respected artist at the top of the ladder among
the Jemez artists and collectors around the world. She signs
her pottery as: A Cornstalk to denote her clan origin.
She is perhaps the finest
creator of Jemez sgraffito-style pottery. Her work is continuously
evolving and improving.
Publications:
-Southwestern Pottery Anasazi to Zuni
-Southern Pueblo Pottery 2,000 Artist Biographies
Awards:
-Santa Fe Indian Market
-Gallup Inter-Tribal Ceremonial
-Eight Northern India Pueblos Arts & Crafts Show
