Native American Indian Art: Indigenous-Art

Anita L. Armijo

		My name is Anita L. Armijo. I am a potter from Jemez Pueblo. I have lived at the Pueblo all of my life. I am registered as conforming to the traditional Jemez pottery process with the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe. I often sell my pieces from my spot at the Portal of the Governor's Palace. I started to learn the Jemez style of pottery making by watching my mother craft fine pottery pieces. She would only let me watch her work and I was not to touch the clay. By the time that I was 8 years old, I could no longer resist the clay, so I took bits and pieces of my mother's leftover clay and made my own pieces. I hid the pieces under the bed. My mother was furious when she discovered the pottery pieces under my bed! She also realized how serious I was about learning the ancient craft. She started to formally teach me after that, until I was good enough to show my own pottery pieces. I continued to mentor under her and other fine Jemez potters and now I am passing the art along to my nieces using the same traditional designs.
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