Paul Joseph "Speckled Rock" Tafoya (1952 – 2017) was a Native American artist who was noted for his paintings,

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...

fetishes A fetish (derived from the French , which comes from the Portuguese , and this in turn from Latin , 'artificial' and , 'to make') is an object believed to have supernatural powers, or in particular, a human-made object that has power over ot ...

, bronze sculptures of Native American

dancers Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

, and redware and blackware pottery. A member of the Tewa and a resident of the Santa Clara Pueblo in New Mexico, Paul was the owner of the Merrock Galeria, which featured the work of contemporary pueblo artists.

Personal life

Born on February 6, 1952, Paul Joseph Speckled Rock Tafoya was the son of Paul and Tonita Tafoya. Paul Tafoya, Sr., was a welder who served as the governor of Santa Clara Pueblo from 1964 to 1983. Paul Speckled Rock was a brother of Kenneth and Ray Tafoya, a nephew of

Angela Baca Angela Tafoya Baca (1927 – 2014) was a Native American artist who was known for her redware and blackware pottery, especially melon bowls and bowls featuring a bear paw design. She had one of the longest careers of the potters in Santa Clara P ...

, and a grandson of Severa Tafoya, all of whom were noted Santa Clara Pueblo potters. Paul graduated from Espanola High School in 1970 and legally changed his name from Tafoya to Speckled Rock at that time. He then attended the National Electronics Institute, where he received an apprenticeship in architectural engineering. In February 1972, Paul married Rosemary "Apple Blossom" Lonewolf, a noted potter who was a daughter of

Joseph Lonewolf Joseph Lonewolf (January 26, 1932 – November 9, 2014) was a Native American potter from Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico, United States. He was known for his use of historical methods and his development of sgraffito and bas-relief techniques used ...

and niece of

Grace Medicine Flower Grace Medicine Flower is a potter, best known for her intricately carved miniature redware and blackware. Early life and education Grace Medicine Flower was born in 1938 at Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico. She is a member of the famous Tafoya pott ...

. Paul and Rosemary's son Adam Speckled Rock, who is a potter in his own right, was born in November 1972. At this time, Paul decided to turn his attention to art. He also worked weekends as a tribal policeman at the Santa Clara Pueblo from 1973 to 1976 to support his family. Following a divorce from Rosemary, Paul married Mercedes Rivera, a contemporary potter who opened her own studio in 1998. Paul subsequently married Rosalda Vigil, daughter of Ernesto Vigil, a municipal judge for the City of Espanola. Paul Speckled Rock died in early 2017.

Artistic creations

Paul Speckled Rock began his artistic career in 1973 by producing a series of small paintings, usually featuring pueblo motifs. His medium was typically acrylic on board. In 1977, he began making bronze sculptures, most commonly featuring Native American warriors in ceremonial dress. He also produced his signature bear fetishes. He began making pottery in 1983, having been inspired by his grandmother, Severa Tafoya. Much of his pottery consists of traditional redware, but he was also known for creating pottery with unusual shapes, often decorated using the sgraffito technique.
photo of Paul
at work in his studio in 2012 was posted on Flickr by one of his visitors.

Awards

Exhibitions

Additional exhibitions included: Heritage Center Inc. Collection, Red Cloud Indian School, Pine Ridge, South Dakota;

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 ...

Guild Indian Fair and Market, Phoenix, Arizona; and the

Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian The Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian is a museum devoted to Native American arts. It is located in Santa Fe, New Mexico and was founded in 1937 by Mary Cabot Wheelwright, who came from Boston, and Hastiin Klah, a Navajo singer and medici ...

, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Business activities

250px, Business card for the Merrock Galeria, owned and managed by Paul Speckled Rock, featuring a representation of a bear fetish for which Paul was famous.Paul Speckled Rock was the owner of the Merrock Galeria, which was located in the Santa Clara Pueblo. The Galeria was founded in 1984 by Paul and his wife Mercedes. The Galeria featured the work of various pueblo artists, not only from Santa Clara Pueblo but also from other pueblos in the American Southwest. Regarding his ownership of the Galeria, Paul remarked: "I find selling other people's work rewarding. I get to learn more about who my customers are. No two people are alike, and all have different tastes." The Merrock Galeria was frequently a stop on group tours of New Mexico, and Paul enjoyed discussing the artwork and the various creative techniques involved with tour members.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Speckled Rock, Paul 1952 births 2017 deaths Santa Clara Pueblo people Sculptors from New Mexico Native American potters American potters Native American sculptors Native American painters 20th-century Native American artists 21st-century Native American artists