Some say the clay has a will of its own, and when the heart of the potter is attuned to that will, the clay seems to shape itself. When you hold a beautifully formed and exquisitely painted pot in your hands, you embrace the spirit of Clay Lady and the prayer of the potter. Every piece of pottery tells its own story - how Mother Earth gave a chunk of herself as a sacred gift to the potter, how the pot's form sprang from human imagination, how it was coiled by human hands, fired, smoothed, buffed, polished and painted into a lasting vessel of great beauty. The pueblo people of New Mexico have been making pottery for nearly 2,000 years. From crude ancient vessels, pottery making has developed into the refined art it is today. Whether utilitarian, ceremonial or decorative, pottery has always been an important part of everyday life for the pueblo potters of New Mexico. Today, potters still dig their clay from nearby riverbanks as they have done for centuries. The color and consistency of the clay varies throughout the state from gritty, mica-flecked to deep red to dark gray and dense to white and grainy. The characteristics of an individual pot are greatly influenced by the color, consistency and strength of the clay. All pueblo pottery is formed by hand, never thrown on a wheel. Until the last 30 years, shaping of the clay was strictly the domain of women. Today both men and women form the clay. Rolled "snakes" are coiled one on top of the other and smoothed together to form an integral piece. Once sun-dried, the pottery is fired for a certain amount of time according to the potter's calculations. Patient polishing with a river stone creates a fine, high-gloss surface. Traditionally, men took over and were allowed to help with the painting, but today both men and women paint their pots. Paints are made from native plants and minerals and are applied by brushes made from dried yucca leaves. The painter draws on traditional designs particular to his or her pueblo but interprets them in his or her own personal way. With the balance of an intuitive sense of design and careful planning, the painter lays the design evenly onto the round surface. Pueblo pottery has a staggering number of variations based on shape, thickness of walls, weight, polish and decoration. It is interesting to begin to recognize the basic styles particular to each pueblo and from there to become acquainted with a specific potter's pieces. The mainly utilitarian pottery made at the mountain pueblos of Taos and Picuris and the lower lying pueblos of San Juan Nambe has an exquisite simplicity. The micaceous clay found in the mountains gives a warm sparkle to the finished pot which is often fired so that fire clouds -stains from the smoke - add a sparkling blush to the pot. Rarely is a pot painted; instead, the twinkle of the mica speaks for itself, although sometimes the potter may add a piece of modeled clay to the surface, like the ghostly image of a lizard gently emerging from the belly of the pot. Mica imparts an added strength to the clay, enabling the potter to make larger pots. The pueblos between Espa‚ola and Santa Fe lie in a basin defined by four sacred mountains from which deep, red clay is"picked like a beautiful flower." In a freely burning fire, the red clay fires red, but when the pots are put in a reduction fire where fuel burns up the oxygen, the pottery emerges black. In the early 20th century, the famous San Ildefonso potter Maria Martinez and her husband Julian created a striking technique of black on black - matte black designs on polished black pots - which became very popular. Suddenly, a growing interest by outsiders in pueblo pottery exploded, and the revitalization of the craft became an income-producing business. Today, the variations coming out of this group of pueblos include red gloss relief designs on red matte, polychrome painting and two-tone techniques. Out of the Middle Rio Grande pueblos come not only pots but the lovable clay Storytellers, figurines with their mouths open, spinning tales. Figurative pottery grew out of the ancient tradition of making human effigy vessels and animal figurines out of clay. Cochiti potters made pots in the shape of birds or painted with animal figures. Their figurines expanded into whole populations oflittle clay figures, and out of this tradition the well-known Helen Cordero created the famous figurine "Storyteller." The classic geometric designs of Santo Domingan pottery are simple but bold and have changed little since the 1700s. Zia pottery is polished by stone and painted with the same red, white and black pigments used for hundreds of years. The Zia bird,sacred symbol of speed and bearer of prayers, is seen on most pots from this pueblo. Acoma pottery is the thinnest, hardest and most lightweight of local pottery. Known for reviving prehistoric styles, Acoma potters use fine-line abstract and geometric designs to cover their pots. These designs positively dazzle the eye and astound the imagination with the skill with which they are painted. According to legend, when the Zunis arrived in this world, they found no water anywhere near, but a deer led them to water.They have always been thankful, and the deer has figured prominently in their pottery design. A heart line pierces its body; the space around the heartline is the trail through which the deer's life breath enters. Owls, water animals and the swirling spiral known as the rain bird are also widely used. Often Zuni potters will leave a "line break" in their design, a tradition with several meanings. One is that it represents the potter's life, and unless one line is left broken, the potter's life will close like the line. Others say two lines must be broken, one to allow the spirit of the pot to enter, the other for it to leave. The tradition and meaning behind the art of pottery making is as deep and layered as the coils of clay laid one on top of the other while creating a piece. The more one learns, the more intriguing it becomes. San Ildefonso Pueblo PO WOH GEH San Ildefonso is one of the best known New Mexico pueblos because of the famous black-on-black pottery which originated there and which was revived in the nineteen-twenties. At that time San Ildefonso, like many other pueblos, was suffering a severe economic depression. Long standing internal conflicts, encroachment upon tribal lands by squatters and illegal cutting of timber all contributed to the low subsistence level to which the pueblo had fallen. When American Indian crafts began to be popular with collectors, it was fortunate for the San Ildefonso people,because, although the pueblo population was small, there were a number of skilled artisans, makers of pottery and painters, who set to work to improve the economic condition of the pueblo. Before long the outstanding quality of San Ildefonso pottery became known. It was then that the famous black pots were revived, primarily because of Maria Martinez. Today they command the respect of world-wide collectors of fine art. Other artists, potters and watercolor painters came to the attention of the public and, although the pueblo is one of the smallest in population, it is among the best known. The San Ildefonso people have lived in the present site since before thirteen hundred A.D. They have a strong sense of identity and retain ancient ceremonies and rituals tenaciously, as well as tribal dances. A particularly important festival is the Buffalo-Deer Dance, performed on San Ildefonso's feast day. Other dances are held in June, July and September. Many painters of the pueblo have depicted these and other ceremonies in their watercolor paintings. Lakxota Kxoyag Holiday Internet Angel Tree- The Lakota Link Internet Tree was established to help the children, elders and handicapped of the small communities of Bridger, Cherry Creek and Red Scaffold, South Dakota, which is located on the Cheyenne River Lakxota (Sioux) Reservation. The residents of these communities are the "Takini" which means survivors of the Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890. Bridger, Cherry Creek and Red Scaffold are poor communities and many parents can not afford gifts for their children so we are hoping that some of you can find room in your hearts to sponsor a child, handicapped and/or this holiday season. Lakxota Kxoyag Holiday Internet Angel Tree