Anita Suazo
Santa Clara
Swirling Storm
Cloud
2 1/2"
H x 4 1/2" D
Anita Suazo, from Santa Clara
Pueblo is a very talented potter. She was born to noted potter,
Belen Tapia (d.) and Jose Nerio Suazo (d.) in 1937, and has been
creating her beautiful forms since she was a young girl.
Her mother, Belen, taught
her how to coil, paint, carve and polish, using the techniques
that had been handed down for generations. Anita is married to
Joseph Suazo, who works with her, and together they have 5 children
and many grandchildren.
She decorates her work in
designs including rain clouds, kiva steps, feathers, squash,
and the avanyu. Her pottery specialties include red and black
carved pieces, as well as red polychrome and black-on-black pots.
Anita is represented in major
collections all over the world, and has won over a dozen awards
at each of three competitions, Santa Fe Indian Market, the New
Mexico State Fair, and at the Eight Northern Pueblo Artists and
Craftsman Show. These awards include the "Best in Show"
at the 1985 NM State Fair; the Jack Hoover Memorial Award at
the Santa Fe Indian Market in 1986; and most recently a second
place ribbon at the 2004 Eight Northern Show and one second &
one third place ribbon at the 2004 Santa Fe Indian Market.
Anita has taught traditional
Indian pottery techniques at the University of New Mexico and
at the University of California at Davis. Her work is in many
museum collections including the Heard Museum of Phoenix, the
Millicent Rogers Museum of Taos, the Wheelwright Museum of Santa
Fe, and the Smithsonian Institution of Washington, D.C.
