Estevan Pot
Jennifer Estevan (b. 1963)
Acoma
Black-on-white pot with lightning design
c. 2002
4 x 5
Gift from the Edward J. Guarino Collection
In memory of Louis Giuliano
2008.25.7
Acoma Pueblo claims a long pottery-making tradition both inspired and enabled by the dry New Mexican landscape. Jennifer Estevan works within this tradition, using materials gathered from nature to create black-on-white pottery often decorated with lightning bolt patterns.
Pueblo pottery was originally used to store food and water, but since the availability of manufactured containers, handmade pottery is now primarily viewed as art. Despite this transformation, most Acoma potters still create their works using traditional methods of hand coiling and outdoor firing. Form and iconography, however, have changed. Estevan’s piece reflects this ongoing dialogue between process and function, tradition and innovation.
The low slung, broad shoulders and wide mouth of Estevan’s pot recall Pueblo vessels first introduced in 1300 A.D. (Mercer 1995, 3). But its small size, which makes it impractical to use, indicates artistic intent. The careful, symmetrical black-on-white design is a more recent development popularized by Acoma potter Lucy Lewis. In the 1950s, Lewis revived the decorative styles of Mimbres, Tularosa, and Anasazi pottery. These “new-old” designs have become part of the Acoma potters’ cultural repertoire.
Estevan, gracefully integrating the lightning pattern into the form of the pot, refers to historical designs while reinterpreting them. One common historical style includes a solid band around the base of the pot. Instead of a straight band, Estevan chooses a zig-zag pattern that plays off the shape of the lightning bolts.
By using natural pigments applied with yucca brushes, Estevan respects Acoma pottery-making traditions. At the same time, she is not bound to them; her work reflects a spirit of innovation.
Angelica Isgro