From the beginning of his career in 1971 Joseph Lonewolf's creations have been called "pottery jewels", and Lonewolf himself was hailed as "the master Indian potter of all times" by knowing critics and collectors in both this country and abroad.

 

The jewels fashioned in clay have been so-named because of their exquisite delicacy, flawlessness and fragile cameo-like appearance. Like all gems, each pottery jewel is unique: a one-of-a-kind creation unlike any other on earth.

 

Yet, the most remarkable facet of the pottery jewels of Joseph Lonewolf remains that they were only dreams and visions of their creator until recently. Aside from making a few hobby pots for friends or family, Lonewolf did not devote himself to the clay until 1971, when a back injury forced him from his job as a mining equipment machinist.

 

Joseph Lonewolf was born January 26, 1932 to a pottery-making family of the Santa Clara Indian Pueblo. His late mother, Agapita (nee Silva), and his father, Camilio Sunflower Tafoya, were instrumental in revitalizing the ancient art when they began producing some of the first characteristic Santa Clara carved black pots and also the brick red pots that are still a hallmark of Camilio's creations and still sought by collectors today. "We never copy each other's styles in this family," he says. "We each have our own distinctive, immediately recognized methods."

 

His family life was like any other Pueblo child's: "We'd sit in the evenings and do beadwork, drawing, painting, clay modeling, woodworking, costume repairing...whatever...while our grandparents told us the old legend and stories. Stories about where our people came from...about how it was in the beginning of the Tewa world...about the water serpent who separates the water creatures from the land animals, yet oversees them all...stories about the importance of dragonflies and wolves...endless stores about who we are and what our duties are to Mother Earth and our fellow creatures...and some sacred stories that were for our family alone and are not repeated outside the family circle unless Grandpa (Camilio) gives permission..."

 

Is Joseph Lonewolf a "master Indian potter?" Simply look at the art factual pottery gathered in our museums and research laboratories. From pre-Columbian times, regardless of area, the evidence is overwhelming: never before has an Indian potter working without wheel or kiln and using only the most rudimentary tools achieved the ultimate craftsmanship and sheer esthetic beauty that Joseph Lonewolf has.

 

Artist profile provided by Mesa Verde Pottery, Cortez, CO. For more information on master works by Mr. Lonewolf, call 800/441-9908