In the shadow of the dam. Like most of the pueblos of the Southwest, Cochiti predates the Spanish. Pronounced (CO-chi-tee). Archeologists suggest that the Cochiti once occupied the Anasazi Village of Tyuonyi in the Jemez Mountains in the west, north of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Today, Cochiti is a 175 mile-square reserve below the gigantic Cochiti Dam, a looming earth-fill presence that created another world above. Many of its 800 tribal members commute to jobs in Santa Fe and Alburquerque. Still, it gives the impression of being frozen in times.
Cochiti pottery from the late 18th century on has been gray-to-cream-to-white slipped polychrome with black-and-red decoration. Cochiti potters entered the tourist market early. Production of whimsical figurines declined between 1900 and 1960 in favor of more conventional shapes. In the 1960's when the tribal government deeded part of its land for the dam and the lake, Cochiti lost is supply of gray clay forever. But through it all, Cochiti potters retained their sense of playfulness. Now, as then, Cochiti pottery remains the funniest, the most human, and the most enjoyable of them all.
Cochiti pottery production went into a gradual decline as the 20th century progressed until 1964 when a minor, unsuccessful potter paid attention to some advice. After that everything changed.
Her name is Helen Cordero. Creator of the Singing Mothers. It all began when Helen asked her husband's cousin, Juanita Arquero, to teach her how to make pottery, but none of her pieces ever came out right. Finally Juanita gave up on Helen's ability ever to make a proper bowl or jar and suggested that she try making figurines.
The rest is history. She began with nativity scenes and singing mothers, open-mouthed Madonna and -child figurines that had been a staple design at Cochiti for 80 years. A folk art collector bought one of her singing mothers and asked her to make a larger one with multiple children.
Her inspiration came from seeing her grandfather, a master storyteller who was always surrounded by children. Her first storyteller had five children hanging off her grandfather's figure, and the idea caught on immediately. Later on Helen kept adding more and more children, and other potters topped her number, by piling increasing numbers of tiny children on a giant figure, like crawling ants.
Nonetheless, Helen Cordero's success plunged Cochiti back into the figurine business. By 1973, most Cochiti potters had stopped doing whatever they were doing and started turning out their versions of the Storyteller (no longer known as the singing mothers). Few Cochiti potters developed their own unique styles and developed instantly their own recognizable style.
Helen Cordero's storytellers had motion and expression and it didn't taken long for the potters to explore the genre and today the Cochiti potters have made storytellers out of almost every animal imaginable. From coyotes and turtles, to frogs, bears and owls. Their all wonderfully whimsical, colorful and make people smile and continue to delight families and collectors around the world.
Credit Reference: Southwestern Pottery - Anasazi to Zuni. By Allen Hayes and John Blom 1996.
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