Clarence Cruz, an Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo native, said he aspires to perpetuate the ancient tradition in the 21st century through his students and peers.
Cruz has practiced pottery making for 29 years, and is now teaching future generations of potters in his ancient traditional pottery course, he said.
The pueblo pottery class is designed for students to first learn and appreciate what Mother Nature has to offer artists, and then build their own creative vessels, he said.
“We are actually getting out there and digging, getting dirty and processing,” said Cruz. “There is more fulfillment of the whole process that way. It gives the students a new look, feel and respect for their surroundings, for it is not only about the earth sustaining us, but also how we can sustain her, to make it for the generations to come.”
Cruz tries to embody the meaning of building and living as a community in his pottery class, he said. In sharing all of the students’ cultural personalities, a unique kind of artistic pueblo is made within the classroom.
As a professor, Cruz said he aspires for the students to become intellectually and culturally enriched through the practice of artisan work.
“We all breathe the same air; we all see the sun rise and set, the galaxy and the moon,” Cruz said. “We all sit, walk and live on this ball of clay, the earth herself, but from different parts.”
Victoria Bryers, a master of art education student, said she has taken the course for six consecutive semesters because she wants to improve her skills with pueblo pottery. Bryers had previously experienced pottery making in 1984 with commercial clay, but avoided enrolling in ceramics classes at UNM because she did not have time to take the prerequisites. However, this class does not have prerequisites, so Bryers took advantage of the opportunity.
“I am not of pueblo culture so I can’t say my work is pueblo pottery, but that it is made in the pueblo tradition,” she said. “It is therapeutic, working with the clay, and I would like to take one thing and concentrate in that, to become the best I can. That is why I chose pueblo pottery, and additionally I have learned so much about Native America and the pueblos here in New Mexico.”
As a cancer survivor and World War II veteran, Bryers is currently developing her pottery mastery through Cruz’s course with the objective of organizing an art show to display her work, she said.
“I feel like when I am working with the clay, I am actually putting part of myself back into it,” she said. “It’s more the manipulation of the material that you don’t do when you are painting or drawing ... you get more personal with the material.”
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Bryers began her pueblo pottery making by clearing her mind of preconceptions with regard to ceramics, she said. A recommendation she gives for anyone interested in pueblo pottery is to walk in with a fresh slate and accept the materials and information being taught.
Pueblo pottery helps ceramic artists connect with the earth more than modern pottery, she said. Students who practice pueblo pottery gain an appreciation for traditional hand-made pieces because of the amount of work it takes to produce a single vessel.
Kathryne Cyman, assistant professor in the ceramics department, said that unlike other ceramics classes, kilns are not used for the pueblo class. Instead, students give their pots traditional pueblo-style outdoor firings.
“Creating ceramics in pueblo culture is akin to living; it is how you live your life and what you do,” she said. “If you create a vessel, it requires a great deal of spirit and harmony, a connection with the earth, and both physical and emotional health.”
Cruz said that for the final stages of the process the class does its firing in the Pojoaque Pueblo in the Poeh Center. The center is a junction of philosophies and preservation of pueblo cultural practices. The pots are fired outdoors and subject to a rotational process with heat emanating from hot coals and direct contact with burning wood.
Cruz said for anyone interested in starting pueblo pottery, it is vital to get in touch with a direct source that practices the art.
“To make pueblo pottery, it has to come from here,” said Cruz, pointing to his heart. “You have to be at peace. If you feel negative, you need to take a deep breath, step away, and reevaluate so that there is a better feeling and understanding of the material, a job or even between two people.”
Mateo Rocha is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @DailyLobo.
