Essay by Audrey Moore, Class of 2015

This olla was created through the collaboration of a mother and daughter. Hopi potter, Nampeyo of Hano, constructed the pot while her daughter, Fannie, painted the geometric designs. While Nampeyo was a skilled painter earlier in her life, her daughter Fannie started painting her pottery as her mother began to lose her sight with age. Nampeyo was very selective as to the potters with whom she chose to work, as she would only collaborate with her immediate family. Both the mother and daughter painted their pottery with designs that were inspired by ancient pottery of the Sikyatki style, an inspiration that can be consistently noted in much Hopi art.

Many of the images that would cover this pottery were designs that consisted of geometric patterns and not necessarily anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures. The viewer can observe these erratic, geometric designs which accompany simple, curvilinear lines. Perhaps the only representational elements of this design are the bird-like icons that encircle the neck of the olla. The figures perch upon a wave-like relief and are enclosed by thick, dark lines. The colors of the actual pot and designs reflect the natural tones of the materials used to create this kind of pottery. Nampeyo gathered her clay from many sources around her village and used materials such as beeweed, mustard plant, and even the bones of animals to achieve her desired pigments.

While Nampeyo was inspired by the ancient Sikyatki style very early on in her career, she soon began to develop her own distinctive style. As she recollected: “When I first began to paint, I used to go to the ancient village and pick up pieces of pottery and copy the designs. That is how I learned to paint. But now, I just close my eyes and see the designs and I paint them” (Broder 238). Before losing her sight, Nampeyo was able to teach her techniques to her children. They thus kept her legacy alive through their own work. Her pottery shaped the Hopi style of ceramics, bridging tradition with modernism, even years after her passing.