Pueblo people have been making pottery in the Southwest United States for hundreds of years. We can learn a lot from the traditions and knowledge that has been passed down from generation to generation. Explore how similar forms, from different times and cultures, can function in the same way. Watch these video clips of potter Dolly Naranjo Neikrug to learn how natural materials are used for making pottery over time.

This video clip features Dolly Naranjo from the Santa Clara Pueblo. She describes how to prepare and make clay the way her ancestors did.

“When I look at a piece of pottery, I am amazed that it comes from nothing more than earth, ash, rock. It has nothing in it but the things you find around you.”—Dolly Naranjo Neikrug


This video clip features Dolly Naranjo from the Santa Clara Pueblo.  She describes how to prepare and make clay the way her ancestors did.

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History Colorado

Making Pottery Video

This video clip features Dolly Naranjo from the Santa Clara Pueblo. She describes how to start a pot the way her ancestors did.

Use an Art History Lens: How does its design fit into its function? 

This video clip features Dolly Naranjo from the Santa Clara Pueblo.  She describes how to start a pot the way her ancestors did.

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Starting a pot video

Potters usually collect clays from sources their families or pueblos have long used. They add temper—often rock, crushed pottery, or sand—to the clay so their vessels don’t collapse or crack when they’re dried or fired. Dolly uses volcanic ash as a temper. Dolly starts a vessel by making a base. Then she rolls, coils, and builds the vessel up until it’s the desired size and shape. She often uses a puki, a base to support the vessel while she works.

This is the pigment used to decorate pottery. Water or other liquid is added to create a paint/glaze. This pigment is black, manganite. 

This video clip features Dolly Naranjo from the Santa Clara Pueblo. She describes how to finish and design a pot the way her ancestors did.

This video clip features Dolly Naranjo from the Santa Clara Pueblo.  She describes how to finish and design a pot the way her ancestors did.

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Finishing a pot video

After the vessel dries, she sands it and coats it with a thin layer of clay and water to create a smooth surface. This slip makes the vessel red.  Before the slip dries, Dolly smoothes the surface with polishing stones—treasured tools often passed down from mother to child over generations.  Potters fire their vessels outdoors using wood or manure. The way they’re fired determines whether vessels end up black or red. Firing makes them permanent and brings them to life. 

Use an Anthropologist lens:  What human concern does this object answer? What cultureal value does this object have? 

Resource Kits

Object Library

Museums

Standards for Ways of Knowing From Ancestors, Pottery Example

College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework