Southwestern Souvenirs

An equally tourist-related art form made in the Southwest is miniature pottery. Many tribes excel in this work, but the Pueblo of Acoma is particularly well-regarded for its tiny creations. The pottery of the Southwest interests collectors because it’s derived from an ancient craft. Designs often reflect tribal traditions or patterns beloved of a particular pottery-making family. Many fine potters are from families with multi-generational talent.

Miniature Acoma animals. The rabbit (l.) and fox (r.) are by Priscilla Jim.

Some of the best pottery made today incorporates modern life in sly ways. The works of Diego Romero have become proud museum acquisitions. Miniature pottery pieces can adopt this approach or remain true to older traditions. A sense of humor, however, is one of the hallmarks of good Southwestern Indian art. Even the small animals depicted radiate amusement. If you visit Albuquerque’s Old Town, a prime tourist attraction, be sure to visit Andrews Pueblo Pottery to get a feeling for what the best contemporary works are like.

(Disclaimer: None of the artists or dealers mentioned here have given us any gifts or incentives to promote or mention them.)

I used that first part of the title on a previous blog I used to write. The illustration with it was from an old tourist picture postcard showing a Hopi family looking at their harvest. My point was that North America’s Natives have had a long tradition of thanksgiving celebrations, usually around harvest time in the fall. Our famous holiday based on the Pilgrims and a tribe of Massachusetts Indians was an event that did happen, although the cutesy connotations that have gathered around it sorely deserve — and have received — debunking. Nevertheless, it never hurts to point out that all of North America’s arriving immigrants, Spanish, French, or English, would never have survived in the New World for long without Native help.

Zuni Pueblo: Visitor and Arts Center

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