NAMPEYO NATIVE AMERICAN PLANTER

NAMPEYO NATIVE AMERICAN PLANTER

Nestled in the Lobelia and Nasturtium plants

Nampeyo is the name of the Native American Hopi woman who taught me how to create polychrome pottery. I fell in love with the people-the Hopi tribe- who gathered at Isomata in the San Jucinto mountains of California. They traveled from the first mesa in Arizona. It was not only the teaching of making the sacred pots that endeared me to them, but the fact that I was able to listen to the stories the elders told while we waited for the for the sheep dung kiln, that we had built, to burn down and reveal our work. I wrote a story about Bonnie Nampeyo and created a special post about her and our class which you will find here.

Nestled in the Chives

In honor of Nampeyo, I have created this small planter which is 5"wide x8 1/2" high x 4"deep. I used stoneware clay which was fired to a high temperature so that she can remain outside all summer. I used some turquoise for embellishment. She is just $38. To purchase, please e-mail me and we can go from there. I prefer Paypal or a personal check.

Close-Up

NAMPEYO

In the village of Pollaca, Nampeyo hand sculpts the clay that she gathered from the ancient archeological site of Sikyatki. With Yucca brush in steady hand, she paints the same designs that were handed down from one generation of women to the next.

She works from sunrise til sunset so that she will have enough pots ready for the dung sheep firing that is the traditional kiln used by her people. Her life is not easy but she would have it no other way..for her’s is the life of the Hopi Indian.

Cheryl Dolby