Tony Dallas was born in 1956
into the Hopi Reservation. He married into the Cochiti Pueblo
in the early 1980’s. He was inspired to learn the art of
working with clay sculptures by observing his mother-in-law,
Lucy R. Suina. He sparked an interest in working with clay at
the age of 16.
Tony seriously began making
pottery in 1982. He learned all the ancient traditional methods
of constructing pottery and clay sculptures. Finally, he decided
that he really enjoyed making storytellers and continues to create
a very unique contemporary style of art.
He stated, “I started
to hand coil a regular storyteller. Then, I thought for a moment.
Mudheads and Koshare clowns also tell stories and they are so
humorous to me. So I began experimenting with different styles
of storytellers using my creative imagination to construct them.”
Tony’s style is a finely painted contemporary flare on a
traditional sculpture.
He signs his art as: T.D.
followed by a badger claw to denote his Clan origin.Tony is related
to the late Charles Loma.
Publications:
-Miniature Figures in Clay
-Storytellers and Other Figurative Pottery
-Hopi-Tewa Pottery 500 Artist Biographies
-Talking with the Clay
Awards:
-New Mexico State Fair
-Santa Fe Indian Market various years
-Rio Grande Indian Market various years
-New Mexico State Fair various years
