Joseph is the son of Joe Latoma
of Zuni Pueblo and a member of the Corn and Water Clans. His
mother is Margaret Chavez of San Felipe Pueblo, providing his
matriarchal link to San Felipe. In addition to silversmithing,
he has been making pots for more than thirty years. He spent
his first eight years doing research, interviewing elders and
learning on his own: experimenting through trial and error.
Because there is little documented
historic pottery from San Felipe, Joseph has created his designs
based on the memories of Pueblo elders from both San Felipe and
Zuni. In 1989 he began experimenting with local clay as he became
interested in researching his Pueblo's traditional pottery styles.
He is also very interested in reintroducing traditional San Felipe
pottery to both the pueblo and a wider public.
Joseph specializes in polychrome
ollas, replicating prehistoric artifacts with a hand-coiling
technique. He has taught his wife, Nona, and their children,
Dustin, Jaylene, Dalon, Janalyn, and Damon, to make pottery.
He explains that this is the best way to teach children about
their culture and traditions. He does not put just any type of
art on the pottery: the design on each piece is determined by
the style of the pottery and each design has a story behind it.
Joseph says, "I make
pottery to keep San Felipe traditions alive. It's important to
me that people know that San Felipe pottery exists." Although
Joseph and Nona usually work as a team and collaborate on all
of his pots, he acknowledges that Nona has become quite a good
potter in her own right due to the fact that she is a "perfectionist...
paying attention to the details" of pottery work.
