Elva Nampeyo
Encyclopedia
Elva Nampeyo (also known as Elva Tewaguna) was an American studio potter
. She was born in the Corn Clan house where her grandmother Nampeyo
resided, atop Hopi
First Mesa. She was the daughter of Fannie Nampeyo
and Vinton Polacca. As a child Elva would watch her grandmother make pottery and play with the clay. When she was eleven years old her mother began teaching her to make pottery.
Elva became an expert at decorating and painting pottery. Her husband, Richard Tewaguna, never became involved in her pottery making. She specialized in black and red on yellow bowls and jars with traditional migration designs and eagle motifs. Her pieces most often resembled the works of her mother and grandmother. On occasion she could be persuaded to break from tradition and try some designs of her own invention. Elva took great pleasure in making pottery and could form as many as eight pots a day. During her later years when she was no longer able to finish her work, her daughter Adelle would polish, decorate and fire the pottery for her. Elva signed her pottery as "Elva Nampeyo" followed by the corn clan symbol which was initiated by her mother Fannie.
Elva had five children of which four are potters including Neva, Elton, Miriam and Adelle. All sign their work with their first names followed by "Nampeyo" and an ear of corn. She died in 1985.
Studio potter
A studio potter is one who is a modern artist, who either works alone or in a small group, producing unique items of pottery in small quantities, typically with all stages of manufacture carried out by themselves. Studio pottery includes functional wares such as tableware or cookware, and...
. She was born in the Corn Clan house where her grandmother Nampeyo
Nampeyo
Iris Nampeyo was a Hopi potter who lived on the Hopi Reservation in present-day Arizona. She received the English name Iris as an infant, but was better known by her Tewa name, Num-pa-yu, meaning "snake that does not bite"....
resided, atop Hopi
Hopi
The Hopi are a federally recognized tribe of indigenous Native American people, who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona. The Hopi area according to the 2000 census has a population of 6,946 people. Their Hopi language is one of the 30 of the Uto-Aztecan language...
First Mesa. She was the daughter of Fannie Nampeyo
Fannie Nampeyo
Fannie Nampeyo was a modern and contemporary fine arts potter, who carried on the traditions of her famous mother, Nampeyo of Hano, the grand matriarch of modern Hopi pottery.Fannie was the youngest, and perhaps the most famous, of Nampeyo of Hano's three daughters...
and Vinton Polacca. As a child Elva would watch her grandmother make pottery and play with the clay. When she was eleven years old her mother began teaching her to make pottery.
Elva became an expert at decorating and painting pottery. Her husband, Richard Tewaguna, never became involved in her pottery making. She specialized in black and red on yellow bowls and jars with traditional migration designs and eagle motifs. Her pieces most often resembled the works of her mother and grandmother. On occasion she could be persuaded to break from tradition and try some designs of her own invention. Elva took great pleasure in making pottery and could form as many as eight pots a day. During her later years when she was no longer able to finish her work, her daughter Adelle would polish, decorate and fire the pottery for her. Elva signed her pottery as "Elva Nampeyo" followed by the corn clan symbol which was initiated by her mother Fannie.
Elva had five children of which four are potters including Neva, Elton, Miriam and Adelle. All sign their work with their first names followed by "Nampeyo" and an ear of corn. She died in 1985.