Anita Louise Suazo
Encyclopedia
Anita Louise Suazo is a Native American
potter from Santa Clara Pueblo
, New Mexico
, United States
.
. Growing up in a family of traditional potters, Anita began learning Santa Clara pottery techniques as a child from her mother.
Anita makes carved redware and blackware, polychrome redware, black melon pots and carved two-tone black on black pottery. She carves or decorates her pots with water serpents, rain clouds, kiva
steps, feathers and other prehistoric stylized designs.
and the Eight Northern Pueblos Indian Arts and Crafts Shows. In 1985, she participated in the Sid Deusch Gallery show in New York with Margaret Tafoya and 42 other Santa Clara potters. In 1986 she received the Jack Hoover Memorial Award for excellence in Santa Clara pottery. She has taught workshops and given demonstrations on traditional Native American pottery
techniques at the University of New Mexico
and the University of California at Davis. Her pottery can be found in collections of the Heard Museum
in Phoenix
, the Smithsonian Institution
, the Millicent Rogers Museum
in Taos
, the Museum of New Mexico
in Santa Fe
, and in collections around the world.
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
potter from Santa Clara Pueblo
Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico
Santa Clara Pueblo is a census-designated place in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 980 at the 2000 census. Santa Clara Pueblo was established about 1550....
, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Background
She is the daughter of Jose Nerio Suazo and noted potter Belen Tapia (1914–1999). Anita’s mother Belen was one of the innovators of finely crafted polychrome redwares. She was a first cousin to Margaret TafoyaMargaret Tafoya
Maria Margarita "Margaret" Tafoya was the matriarch of Santa Clara Pueblo potters. Margaret learned the art of making pottery from her parents Sara Fina Guiterrez Tafoya and Jose Geronimo Tafoya...
. Growing up in a family of traditional potters, Anita began learning Santa Clara pottery techniques as a child from her mother.
Artwork
She works with her husband Joseph who helps her dig clay from the soil near Santa Clara. Her pots are made using the traditional, free hand coiling technique, polishing stones and native clays.Anita makes carved redware and blackware, polychrome redware, black melon pots and carved two-tone black on black pottery. She carves or decorates her pots with water serpents, rain clouds, kiva
Kiva
A kiva is a room used by modern Puebloans for religious rituals, many of them associated with the kachina belief system. Among the modern Hopi and most other Pueblo peoples, kivas are square-walled and underground, and are used for spiritual ceremonies....
steps, feathers and other prehistoric stylized designs.
Awards and honors
Anita is recognized as a master potter. Since 1979, she has consistently won awards at the Santa Fe Indian MarketSanta Fe Indian Market
Santa Fe Indian Market is an annual art market held in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA over two days on the weekend after the third Thursday in August and draws an estimated 100,000 people to the city from around the world. The Market was first held in 1922 as the Indian Fair and was sponsored by the...
and the Eight Northern Pueblos Indian Arts and Crafts Shows. In 1985, she participated in the Sid Deusch Gallery show in New York with Margaret Tafoya and 42 other Santa Clara potters. In 1986 she received the Jack Hoover Memorial Award for excellence in Santa Clara pottery. She has taught workshops and given demonstrations on traditional Native American pottery
Native American pottery
Native American pottery is an art form with at least a 7500-year history in the Americas. Pottery is fired ceramics with clay as a component. Ceramics are used for utilitarian cooking vessels, serving and storage vessels, pipes, funerary urns, censers, musical instruments, ceremonial items, masks,...
techniques at the University of New Mexico
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...
and the University of California at Davis. Her pottery can be found in collections of the Heard Museum
Heard Museum
The Heard Museum of Native Cultures and Art is a museum located in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. There is also the Heard Museum North Scottsdale branch in Scottsdale and the Heard Museum West branch in Surprise....
in Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
, the Millicent Rogers Museum
Millicent Rogers Museum
In 1956, the Millicent Rogers family founded the Millicent Rogers Museum in Taos, New Mexico. Initially the artworks were from the multi-cultural collections of Millicent Rogers and her mother, Mary B. Rogers, who donated many of the first pieces of Taos Pueblo art...
in Taos
Taos, New Mexico
Taos is a town in Taos County in the north-central region of New Mexico, incorporated in 1934. As of the 2000 census, its population was 4,700. Other nearby communities include Ranchos de Taos, Cañon, Taos Canyon, Ranchitos, and El Prado. The town is close to Taos Pueblo, the Native American...
, the Museum of New Mexico
Museum of New Mexico
The Museum of New Mexico consists of six separate institutions in Santa Fe, New Mexico, including :* New Mexico Museum of Art* Palace of the Governors* Museum of Indian Arts & Culture/Laboratory of Anthropology* Museum of International Folk Art...
in Santa Fe
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
, and in collections around the world.