Ida Sahmie
Midnight Yeibichei
7 ¼"
H x 8" D
Ida Sahmie (Navajo) the wife
of Andrew Sahmie (Hopi), and the daugther-in-law of Priscilla
Namingha Nampeyo. She was born in 1960 and has been an active
potter since 1990.
Her favorite designs are Yei-like
figures. She has been described in Hopi-Tewa Pottery: 500
Artists Biographies by Gregory Schaff:
"Ida Sahmie is a Navajo
woman who is married into a Tewa family. She has learned how
to make pots in the technique and style of Hopi-Tewa potters.
However, she prefers to use Navajo designs, especially Navajo
Yeis, spiritual 'Holy People.'"
Along with her appearance
in Hopi-Tewa Pottery: 500 Artists Biographies by Gregory
Schaff (p. 143), Ida is also featured in Fourteen Families
in Pueblo Pottery (p. 48), and in The Legacy of a Master
Potter: Nampeyo and Her Descendants by Mary Ellen and Laurence
Blair (p. 188).
Although her work has drawn
criticism from both the Hopi-Tewa and Navajo communities, Ida
maintains her comittment to her artwork and continues to push
forward with clean and consistent pieces.
Ida is quoted in Fourteen
Families: " Personally, I feel I have a unique talent
with pottery. It's a combination of both Hopi and Navajo, though
I feel it should be more Navajo because I am a Navajo. I want
to stick with more Navajo designs. The Yei figures are the most
popular for me, secondly would be the rug designs, and third
the sand painting designs."
This piece is a classic "midnight"
piece, wherein the figures appear in a natural creme color against
a dark polychrome background. The yeibichei figures appear on
all four panels of the pottery, while they are seperated by four
ears of corn. These represent the four directions and the four
seasons, respectively.
The red rim of this piece
is a unique feature that is appearing on Ida's most elaborate
work. The bottom of the pottery has been designed in a basket-like
fashion, with the step design cutting the polychrome black from
the natural color of the clay.
