Ruins of long abandoned indian pueblos are found all across the deserts and mountains of Southeastern Arizona, their inhabitants mysteriously left over 500 years ago but their beautifully decorated pottery still speaks to us from across the centuries. The fame of these southern pueblos lives on in Indian lore today; the Hopi call this area Palatkwapi and say that some of their ancestors emigrated from here. The pottery left by these ancient pueblos is among the finest and most beautiful of prehistoric southwestern pottery, many excellent examples of their work grace museums and private collections around the world.
Inspired by these ancient vessels and shards, Andy Ward set out to recreate this lost art form in the traditional way. While still in High School Andy began to experiment with native clays and minerals he found, forming pots by hand in the traditional coil and scrape method and firing out of doors with mesquite wood. By the time he was 21 Andy was winning awards for the pottery he was painstakingly making in the same fashion as the prehistoric pueblos. As time went by he continued to refine his art, studying the ancient shards, searching out and testing new clays and experimenting with different techniques, always staying true to the traditions of the ancients and whenever he got stuck, always returning to the shards for answers. “The materials are out there” Andy says indicating the broad expanse of desert near his home, “if there is some pottery type I can’t duplicate exactly right, I just look harder, at the shards for clues and around the desert for materials”. He has hiked literally hundreds of miles around Southeast Arizona in search of clues and materials to assist him in recreating prehistoric pottery types native to Southeast Arizona.
Palatkwapi revival pottery is built on the legacy of the prehistoric pueblo potters of Southern Arizona, no piece is an exact reproduction of a prehistoric piece but are inspired by them, the design elements come from the ancient potteries and the materials and technologies are exactly the same. All materials used are collected by hand from the local landscape, some clays are carried out miles from remote locations and many hours are spent in processing clay, grinding minerals and making paint before any pots are formed. The final product is a beautiful, one of a kind piece of art just like the ancient vessels seen in museums.
Tags: Clay, Pueblo Pottery, pueblo ruins
Posted in: Pottery
