This biography from the Archives of AskART:
|  Of Tewa heritage of the San Ildefonso Pueblo in the Rio Grande Valley
of New Mexico, Maria Martinez became world renowned for her black on
black pottery. "This process involved burying the unfinished pot in a fire in the ground, covered tightly with sheep or cow dung for fuel. The amount of air reaching the pottery determined whether the clay remained red or instead turned completely black." (Gibson/Michnovicz, 91)
Her pottery was first exhibited beyond her pueblo at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904, and many decades later at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC, the Millicent Rogers Museum in Taos, and the Heard Museum in Phoenix.
She learned to make pots as a child from her
aunt, Tia Nicolasa, and began with clay dishes she made for her
playhouse. In 1908, New Mexico archaeologist Dr. Edgar Hewett
asked her to put some shards together and reconstruct an entire
pot. She was successful, and this activity further stirred her
interest in making pots.
Julian, her husband, broke away from
farming in San Ildefonso and became a janitor at the Museum of New
Mexico in Santa Fe. He and Maria studied the pottery in the
display cases, and then applied methods they observed. They
discovered a method to get the black colors by smothering the flames
with dried manure during firing, producing smoke that carbonized the
pottery. They polished the surfaces with a smooth stone before
firing, so the pottery, black-on-black, emerged with a silvery sheen.
They also painted dull, velvet black decorations of ancient motifs on
the pottery before firing.
They sold many of their pots in
Santa Fe but eventually Maria became homesick for San Ildefonso, and
the couple returned there where she gave pottery lessons to other
women. After her husband's death, she worked with her sons, Popovi Da
and Adam, and others, which insured that her pottery making techniques
lived on.
Maria Martinez became so admired for her skill that
she was specially invited to the White House four times, and she
received honorary doctorates from the University of Colorado and New
Mexico State University.
Sources:
Charlotte Streifer Rubinstein, American Women Artists
Toni Michnovicz Gibson and Jon Michnovicz, Images of America: Los Alamos 1944-1947
| |
Biography from Mark Sublette Modern:
| Maria Martinez and San Ildefonso Pottery
Few craft artists, Native American or otherwise, can claim worldwide
fame and appreciation, but these accompanied the life of potter Maria
Martinez of San Ildefonso Pueblo. Through her hard work and
generous sharing of her techniques, Maria reintroduced the art of
pottery making to her people, providing them with a means of artistic
expression and for retaining some aspects of the pueblo way of life.
San Ildefonso Pueblo is a quiet community located 20 miles northwest of
Santa Fe, New Mexico. Inhabited since A.D. 1300, the pueblo saw
many changes that resulted in a rich culture, in which ancient
traditions mix with Spanish festivals and Anglo conveniences.
Life in the Tewa-speaking village on the Pajarito Plateau is filled
with love for one's neighbor and respect for the God-given gifts of the
earth. Into this community, at a time of great transition from
isolation to increased contact with other peoples, Maria Antonia
Montoya was born, probably in the year 1887. For nearly one hundred
years, until her death in 1980, Maria lived in the pueblo, eager to
greet visitors and to share her craft with those who would like to
watch and listen.
Maria's fascination with pottery-making started at a young age, when
she would watch her aunt making pots, after her chores were done.
Although many women in the pueblo knew how to make pottery, by Maria's
time it was no longer a necessary part of daily life. Inexpensive
Spanish tinware and Anglo enamelware had replaced traditional
containers and cooking pots. In many ways, the art of pottery
making was facing extinction. Fortunately, Maria's interest and
willingness to experiment with techniques prevented this from
occurring.
Not long after her marriage to Julian Martinez, Maria was asked to
replicate some pre-historic pottery styles that had been discovered in
an archaeological excavation of an ancient pueblo site near San
Ildefonso. These excavations of 1908 and 1909, led by Dr. Edgar
Lee Hewett, who was also the director of the Museum of New Mexico,
produced examples of many pre-historic pottery techniques. Dr.
Hewett asked Maria, who already had a reputation in the pueblo for
being an excellent pottery-maker, if she could make full-scale examples
for the museum of the polychrome ware. It was then that Maria and
her husband, Julian, who painted the designs on the pottery after Maria
shaped them, began an artistic collaboration that would last throughout
their lives together.
Maria and Julian refined their pottery techniques and were asked to
demonstrate their craft at several expositions, including the 1904 St.
Louis World's Fair, the 1914 Panama-California Exposition in San Diego,
and the 1934 Chicago World's Fair. Part of their success came from
their innovations in the style of black-on-black ware. Although other
pueblos, such as Santa Clara, had been producing black wares, Maria and
Julian invented a technique that would allow for areas of the pottery
to have a matte finish and other areas to be a glossy jet black.
Through experimentation that began in 1919, they created a style that
would become world famous.
Part of the unique-ness of San Ildefonso pottery is the clay that is
used, which comes from their reservation. Dried clay and volcanic
ash are collected yearly from selected locations throughout the
reservation, and later combined with water in small batches. The clay
from each pueblo has its own mineral composition, allowing for rich
differences in texture and color. The watery clay slip that is
used on the black wares, for example, has a rich iron content that
turns black when fired in a particular way. After a batch of clay
is mixed and has set for a few days, a "pancake" of clay is formed and
pressed into a puki, beginning the process of building a pot.
The
puki is a bowl-shaped form that supports the bottom of the pot as it is
being built. Most commonly, pots are formed with a coil
technique, in which long snake-shaped coils are circled around the base
of the pot and blended together to create the walls of the
vessel. A potter's wheel is not used in traditional pueblo
pottery making. When the height and the amount of clay are just right,
the walls of the pot are smoothed and shaped into curves with pieces of
gourd, called kajepes. The pot is left to partially dry after the form
is completed. In its semi-dried state, the pot is ready to be scraped,
which refines the shape and removes any irregularity. Then the pot is
sanded with sandpaper to rid it of any grit. The red slip is applied
next, and the pot must be burnished with a stone before the slip dries
completely. This step is most critical for the glossy nature of the
black wares. A decoration is painted onto the polished surface,
resulting in matte areas once the piece is fired.
Traditionally the men of the pueblo do the painting, but women were
taught the process and painted during the times that the men had left
the pueblo for work. Julian replicated and was inspired by many
pre-historic designs. He was fond of many motifs, using ancient
symbols in new combinations. He often painted the avanyu, the
horned water serpent, which he saw as a symbol for the rush of water
after a hard rain, and as a metaphor for the pueblo itself.
Black wares become so in the firing process. This labor-intensive
task is done after many pots have been made, to maximize
efficiency. Wood and dried cow manure are piled around an iron
grill, upon which the pottery has been carefully stacked. The
pile is lit and left to burn for a specified amount of time, until the
fire has reached its maximum heat. At this time the fire is
smothered with ash or fresh manure, producing a smoke-filled reducing
atmosphere that turns the pots black.
Variations in the process can produce pottery with black areas and red
areas, which are also popular. For many years, Maria and Julian
produced their pottery together amid raising a family and carrying out
traditional duties for the pueblo. Their children were taught the
importance of the craft, and they participated in various ways.
After Julian's death in 1943, Maria began working with her
daughter-in-law Santana. Santana provided the painted decoration that
was her father-in-law's legacy. After 1956, Maria also worked
with her son Popovi Da. It was Popovi who helped market her work,
building a shop at the pueblo and speaking about the pottery tradition
of San Ildefonso at lectures across the country.
One of the family's most innovative potters is Maria's grandson Tony
Da. Tony combined sculptural techniques with traditional forms to
create unique forms. Due to a motorcycle accident, Tony no longer
makes pottery, but he continues to work as a painter.
Many other family members and people from San Ildefonso continue to
make pottery, carrying on the tradition so openly shared by Maria.Maria
signed her pieces several different ways over the course of her life,
and to some extent, these signatures can help to date her work.
At first, she signed her pots "Marie" because she was told that this
name would be more familiar to those who would buy her work.
Through the years her pieces were signed "Poh ve ka," "Marie," "Marie
& Julian," "Marie & Santana," "Maria Poveka," and
"Maria/Popovi."
Since her death in 1980, the pottery of Maria and her family has become increasingly more collectible and difficult to find. |
Biography from Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery Santa FeTucson:
| Few craft artists, Native American or otherwise, can claim worldwide fame and appreciation, but these accompanied the life of potter Maria Martinez of San Ildefonso Pueblo. Through her hard work and generous sharing of her techniques, Maria reintroduced the art of pottery making to her people, providing them with a means of artistic expression and for retaining some aspects of the pueblo way of life.
San Ildefonso Pueblo is a quiet community located 20 miles northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Inhabited since A.D. 1300, the pueblo saw many changes that resulted in a rich culture, in which ancient traditions mix with Spanish festivals and Anglo conveniences. Life in the Tewa-speaking village on the Pajarito Plateau is filled with love for one's neighbor and respect for the God-given gifts of the earth. Into this community, at a time of great transition from isolation to increased contact with other peoples, Maria Antonia Montoya was born, probably in the year 1887. For nearly one hundred years, until her death in 1980, Maria lived in the pueblo, eager to greet visitors and to share her craft with those who would like to watch and listen.
Maria's fascination with pottery-making started at a young age, when she would watch her aunt making pots, after her chores were done. Although many women in the pueblo knew how to make pottery, by Maria's time it was no longer a necessary part of daily life. Inexpensive Spanish tinware and Anglo enamelware had replaced traditional containers and cooking pots. In many ways, the art of pottery making was facing extinction. Fortunately, Maria's interest and willingness to experiment with techniques prevented this from occurring.
Not long after her marriage to Julian Martinez, Maria was asked to replicate some pre-historic pottery styles that had been discovered in an archaeological excavation of an ancient pueblo site near San Ildefonso. These excavations of 1908 and 1909, led by Dr. Edgar Lee Hewett (who was also the director of the Museum of New Mexico), produced examples of many pre-historic pottery techniques. Dr. Hewett asked Maria, who already had a reputation in the pueblo for being an excellent pottery-maker, if she could make full-scale examples for the museum of the polychrome ware. It was then that Maria and her husband, Julian (who painted the designs on the pottery after Maria shaped them), began an artistic collaboration that would last throughout their lives together.
Maria and Julian refined their pottery techniques and were asked to demonstrate their craft at several expositions, including the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, the 1914 Panama-California Exposition in San Diego, and the 1934 Chicago World's Fair. Part of their success came from their innovations in the style of black-on-black ware.
Although other pueblos, such as Santa Clara, had been producing black wares, Maria and Julian invented a technique that would allow for areas of the pottery to have a matte finish and other areas to be a glossy jet black. Through experimentation that began in 1919, they created a style that would become world famous.
Part of the unique-ness of San Ildefonso pottery is the clay that is used, which comes from their reservation. Dried clay and volcanic ash are collected yearly from selected locations throughout the reservation, and later combined with water in small batches. The clay from each pueblo has its own mineral composition, allowing for rich differences in texture and color. The watery clay slip that is used on the black wares, for example, has a rich iron content that turns black when fired in a particular way.
After a batch of clay is mixed and has set for a few days, a "pancake" of clay is formed and pressed into a puki, beginning the process of building a pot. The puki is a bowl-shaped form that supports the bottom of the pot as it is being built. Most commonly, pots are formed with a coil technique, in which long snake-shaped coils are circled around the base of the pot and blended together to create the walls of the vessel. A potter's wheel is not used in traditional pueblo pottery making. When the height and the amount of clay are just right, the walls of the pot are smoothed and shaped into curves with pieces of gourd, called kajepes.
The pot is left to partially dry after the form is completed. In its semi-dried state, the pot is ready to be scraped, which refines the shape and removes any irregularity. Then the pot is sanded with sandpaper to rid it of any grit. The red slip is applied next, and the pot must be burnished with a stone before the slip dries completely. This step is most critical for the glossy nature of the black wares.
A decoration is painted onto the polished surface, resulting in matte areas once the piece is fired. Traditionally the men of the pueblo do the painting, but women were taught the process and painted during the times that the men had left the pueblo for work. Julian replicated and was inspired by many pre-historic designs. He was fond of many motifs, using ancient symbols in new combinations. He often painted the avanyu, the horned water serpent, which he saw as a symbol for the rush of water after a hard rain, and as a metaphor for the pueblo itself.
Black wares become so in the firing process. This labor-intensive task is done after many pots have been made, to maximize efficiency. Wood and dried cow manure are piled around an iron grill, upon which the pottery has been carefully stacked. The pile is lit and left to burn for a specified amount of time, until the fire has reached its maximum heat. At this time the fire is smothered with ash or fresh manure, producing a smoke-filled reducing atmosphere that turns the pots black. Variations in the process can produce pottery with black areas and red areas, which are also popular.
For many years, Maria and Julian produced their pottery together amid raising a family and carrying out traditional duties for the pueblo. Their children were taught the importance of the craft, and they participated in various ways. After Julian's death in 1943, Maria began working with her daughter-in-law Santana. Santana provided the painted decoration that was her father-in-law's legacy. After 1956, Maria also worked with her son Popovi Da. It was Popovi who helped market her work, building a shop at the pueblo and speaking about the pottery tradition of San Ildefonso at lectures across the country. One of the family's most innovative potters is Maria's grandson Tony Da (1940-2008). Tony combined sculptural techniques with traditional forms to create unique forms. Due to a motorcycle accident, Tony no longer makes pottery, but he continues to work as a painter. Many other family members and people from San Ildefonso continue to make pottery, carrying on the tradition so openly shared by Maria.
Maria signed her pieces several different ways over the course of her life, and to some extent, these signatures can help to date her work. At first, she signed her pots "Marie" because she was told that this name would be more familiar to those who would buy her work. Through the years her pieces were signed "Poh ve ka," "Marie," "Marie & Julian," "Marie & Santana," "Maria Poveka," and "Maria/Popovi."
Since her death in 1980, the pottery of Maria and her family has become increasingly more collectible and difficult to find. J. Mark Sublette, Medicine Man Gallery continually searches the country for fine examples of her work. |
Biography from Adobe Gallery:
| Maria Poveka Martinez (1884-1980) is probably the most famous of all pueblo potters. She and her husband, Julian, discovered in 1918 how to produce the now-famous black-on-black pottery and they spent the remainder of their careers perfecting and producing it for museums and collectors worldwide. Early works by Maria and Julian are unsigned (1918-1923).
 By 1923, Maria began signing Marie on pieces made by her and Julian. His name was omitted because making pottery was “woman's work.” Pottery made by Maria and painted by Julian, signed Marie, was most probably made between 1920 and 1925.  Pottery made by Maria and painted by Julian between 1925 and 1943 bears the dual signature Marie + Julian. By 1925, and until his death in 1943, Maria shared the signature with Julian.  Following the death of Julian, their son Adam and his wife Santana helped Maria with the design and firing of her pottery. Pieces made between 1943 and 1954 are signed Marie + Santana.  When Maria began signing pottery, she was told, probably by Chapman, that “Marie” was a more familiar name than “Maria” to the non-Indian public. She therefore signed the name “Marie” for about 30 years. Following the publication of Alice Marriott's book, Maria: The Potter of San Ildefonso, she began signing her true name, “Maria.”  Around the mid-1950s, Popovi Da began working with his mother, helping her with designing and firing her pottery. They began to co-sign pieces and Popovi started putting a date on each piece, probably around 1959.  Maria often made small pieces of pottery without the assistance of her husband, her son, or her daughter-in-law. These are always plain, polished, undecorated pieces and are usually quite spectacular and affordable. They are signed Maria Poveka.
Additional Sources include:
• The Living Tradition of Maria Martinez, by Susan Peterson . 1977. Kodansha International, New York.
• Fourteen Families in Pueblo Pottery, by Rick Dillingham. 1994. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.
• Maria, by Richard L. Spivey. 1979, second printing 1981. Northland Publishing.
• The Legacy of Maria Poveka Martinez, by Richard L. Spivey. 2003. Museum of New Mexico Press.
• Maria, The Potter of San Ildefonso, by Alice Marriott. 1948. First edition. University of Oklahoma Press. |
| ** If you discover credit omissions or have additional information to add, please let us know at registrar@AskART.com. |
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