Today we went to the Labor Day Indian Crafts Market at the Santo Domingo Pueblo, 26 miles south of Santa Fe. We had a great time and were about to leave when our day got even better. Amazingly so.
Not only did we get to meet the famous Navajo potter Rose Williams and buy another of her remarkable pieces (we already had a small one) but seeing her give Fandy as big a hug as a tiny 94 year-old is able to give was a truly memorable moment. Photography is discouraged at the Pueblo, so it's a moment I cannot share, only commit to memory.
This most respected of Navajo artists probably doesn't even think of herself as such. Making pots is what she's always done - like generations of Navajo women before her - only turning to selling them when her husband died 54 years ago, to feed her family.
She laughs constantly. And thanks you in Navajo, with such sincerity that she clearly believes you have understood every word.
The pot we bought is very similar to the one Rose is holding. Actually they are not strictly "pots" at all but drums. They would be filled with water and have deer skin stretched across the top and be used in ceremonies.
This is our piece - "Traditional Drum".
It won First Place in this year's Navajo Festival of Arts and Culture. (We were kindly given a copy of the rosette along with the pot.)
Rose Williams had 15 children, of whom 10 are still living. Three of her daughters are full-time potters. And she has taught or influenced many other Navajo potters.
Refreshingly unchanged by her museum-level collectibility, Rose still keeps a small flock of sheep - to her just another Navajo tradition that is worth keeping.
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