Lucy M. Lewis
Encyclopedia
Lucy M. Lewis was a Native American
potter from Acoma Pueblo
, New Mexico
. She is known for her black-on-white decorative ceramics made using traditional techniques.
Lucy's pottery is made from a gray claybody and formed by hand using coils.
After the pot is shaped and dried, a white slip is applied. Without the slip the mineral paints would run off the pot.
Next the design is applied using mineral paints and a brush made from the Yucca plant. This small brush holds more paint and makes finer lines than regular brushes bought at a store.
Finally on a day when the weather is right for a firing, a small number of finished pieces are carefully pit-fired. Results are rarely 100%. Some pieces will end up cracked, the background on others will be gray rather than white (these will need to be refired), but a few will be wonderful.
After going through this process one learns why these pieces should be well taken care of and carefully preserved. Lucy didn't speak any English.
Her work is in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution
and the Museum of the American Indian.
Two extensive biographies have been published:
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 Acoma Pueblo
Acoma Pueblo
Acoma Pueblo is a Native American pueblo approximately 60 miles west of Albuquerque, New Mexico in the United States. Three reservations make up Acoma Pueblo: Sky City , Acomita, and McCartys. The Acoma Pueblo tribe is a federally recognized tribal entity...
, 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...
. She is known for her black-on-white decorative ceramics made using traditional techniques.
Lucy's pottery is made from a gray claybody and formed by hand using coils.
After the pot is shaped and dried, a white slip is applied. Without the slip the mineral paints would run off the pot.
Next the design is applied using mineral paints and a brush made from the Yucca plant. This small brush holds more paint and makes finer lines than regular brushes bought at a store.
Finally on a day when the weather is right for a firing, a small number of finished pieces are carefully pit-fired. Results are rarely 100%. Some pieces will end up cracked, the background on others will be gray rather than white (these will need to be refired), but a few will be wonderful.
After going through this process one learns why these pieces should be well taken care of and carefully preserved. Lucy didn't speak any English.
Her work is in the collections of 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...
and the Museum of the American Indian.
Two extensive biographies have been published:
- Lucy M. Lewis: American Indian Potter by Susan Harnly Peterson and Fred Kabotie
- A Tribute to Lucy M. Lewis: Acoma Potter by John E. Collins and Dr. Frederick J. Dockstader