Anita Louise Suazo (born May 13, 1937) is a
Native American potter from
Santa Clara Pueblo,
New Mexico,
United States.
Background
She is the daughter of Ernesto Tapia and noted potter Belen Tafoya Tapia (1914–1999). Anita's mother Belen was one of the innovators of finely crafted polychrome redwares. She was a first cousin to
Margaret Tafoya
Maria Margarita "Margaret" Tafoya ( Tewa name: Corn Blossom; August 13, 1904 – February 25, 2001) was the matriarch of Santa Clara Pueblo potters. She was a recipient of a 1984 National Heritage Fellowship awarded by the National Endowment for ...
. 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 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 Market
The Santa Fe Indian Market is an annual art market held in Santa Fe, New Mexico on the weekend following the third Thursday in August. The event draws an estimated 150,000 people to the city from around the world. The Southwestern Association for ...
and the
Eight Northern Pueblos Indian Arts and Crafts Shows. In 1985, she participated in the
Sid Deusch Gallery show in
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
with Margaret Tafoya and 42 other Santa Clara potters. In 1986 she received the
Jack Hoover Memorial Award
Jack may refer to:
Places
* Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community
* Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community
* Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA
People and fictional characters
* Jack (given name), a male given name, ...
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
The Heard Museum is a private, not-for-profit museum in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, dedicated to the advancement of American Indian art. It presents the stories of American Indian people from a first-person perspective, as well as exhibitio ...
in
Phoenix, the
Smithsonian Institution, the
Millicent Rogers Museum
The Millicent Rogers Museum is an art museum in Taos, New Mexico, founded in 1956 by the family of Millicent Rogers. Initially the artworks were from the multi-cultural collections of Millicent Rogers and her mother, Mary B. Rogers, who donated ...
in
Taos
Taos or TAOS may refer to:
Places
* Taos, Missouri, a city in Cole County, Missouri, United States
* Taos County, New Mexico, United States
** Taos, New Mexico, a city, the county seat of Taos County, New Mexico
*** Taos art colony, an art colo ...
, the
Museum of New Mexico in
Santa Fe, and in collections around the world.
Further reading
*Hayes, Allan and John Blom. ''Southwestern Pottery: Anasazi to Zuni''. 1996.
*LaFree, Betty. ''Santa Clara Pottery Today.'' 1975.
*Schaaf, Gregory. ''Pueblo Indian Pottery: 750 Artist Biographies.'' 2000.
External links
Anita Louise Suazo pottery at the Holmes Museum of Anthropology
{{DEFAULTSORT:Suazo, Anita Louise
1937 births
Living people
Santa Clara Pueblo potters
Ceramists from New Mexico
American potters
American women potters
20th-century American ceramists
20th-century American women artists
21st-century American ceramists
21st-century American women artists
20th-century Native American artists
21st-century Native American artists
20th-century Native American women
21st-century Native American women
Native American women potters
Native American potters