Native American Artist. Maria Martinez was an internationally known potter from San Ildefonso Pueblo. She founded the San Ildefonso School of Pottery Making. Even as a young child, she was interested in pottery making and learned skills by observing her female relatives at San Ildefonso Pueblo and later by observing potters at nearby Santa Clara Pueblo as they made pottery. Her interest in pottery making was further intensified in 1908 when archaeologist Edgar Lee Hewett conducted excavations near San Ildefonso. His team discovered hundreds of pieces of prehistoric Pueblo black-on-white pottery which Maria was asked to replicate by the archaeologists. Such activities inspired her to experiment with new styles of pottery making. Along with her husband Julian Martinez, she developed her unique type of black-on-black pottery exhibited today in museums all over the world. The matte black on polished blackware was incredibly difficult to produce. Today her family continues to produce her style of pottery for art collectors and museums.
Native American Artist. Maria Martinez was an internationally known potter from San Ildefonso Pueblo. She founded the San Ildefonso School of Pottery Making. Even as a young child, she was interested in pottery making and learned skills by observing her female relatives at San Ildefonso Pueblo and later by observing potters at nearby Santa Clara Pueblo as they made pottery. Her interest in pottery making was further intensified in 1908 when archaeologist Edgar Lee Hewett conducted excavations near San Ildefonso. His team discovered hundreds of pieces of prehistoric Pueblo black-on-white pottery which Maria was asked to replicate by the archaeologists. Such activities inspired her to experiment with new styles of pottery making. Along with her husband Julian Martinez, she developed her unique type of black-on-black pottery exhibited today in museums all over the world. The matte black on polished blackware was incredibly difficult to produce. Today her family continues to produce her style of pottery for art collectors and museums.
Bio by: Sharlotte Neely Donnelly
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