Lesson Overview
• FOCUS ARTIST: Maria
Martinez
• FOCUS ELEMENTS:
– Form: a 3-demensional shape,
either real or illusional.
– Texture: how an actual object
feels or how a 2-demensional
object appears to feel.
• FOCUS PRINCIPLES:
– Balance: creating a sense of
stability where no part
overpowers another.
Maria Martinez1887-1980
Maria Martinez was a
Native American woman of
the San Ildefonso Pueblo
near Santa Fe, New
Mexico. When she was a
young girl she used to
watch her aunt make hand
made pottery. There were
few left who knew how to
do it since enamel and tin
bowls were available.
Maria became very good at
making pots and her and her
family helped to preserve
this cultural art. Some
archeologists found
remnants of shiny black
pottery from many, many
years ago. They heard that
Maria made the thinnest,
smoothest pots, so they
went to her to see if she
would try to make this style
of pot to put in museums.
It took Maria a long time and a lot of
experimenting to learn how to do the black
pottery of her ancestors. At first she was
embarrassed that she couldn’t make the
pots as well as she wanted, so she hid her
other pots away. When some people
came looking for her after they had seen
her pots in the museum, she became
more confident. She worked and worked
until she finally perfected the art.
Maria was very generous in sharing her
technique with others. Her husband usually
did the decorating on her pots. She taught
her family also and they carry on her legacy.
Maria formed her pots by using the pinch pot
method. As the pots dried, Maria would
burnish, or rub, them over and over until they
were shiny. Most of the clay in New Mexico is
red in color like this pot. Maria developed a
special technique for turning red clay to black
when it was fired.
Some things to know about clay. . .
�Clay will become stone-like when it is baked in an oven
called a kiln to over 2000 degrees. This is called firing the
clay.
�When clay is fired, it shrinks a little. When air is heated it
expands. Can you imagine what might happen if there is
air trapped inside the clay?
�Clay is much different than play-dough. Squishing clay
and folding it causes the clay to get air bubbles and to dry
out and become harder to work with. Clay should be
shaped gradually, smoothing the surfaces as you go.
Making a Pinch Pot• Using a cut off wire, cut a 3 inch cube of
clay off the block.
• Shape it into a ball shape by gently dropping it on the table to smooth out the corners and edges.
• Use your hands to finish patting it into a ball shape.
• Holding the clay in one hand, use the thumb of your other hand to push gently in the center. Turn the clay a bit and then push a bit more with your thumb.
• As you form a hole in the middle push on the inside with your thumb and the outside with your fingers, turning it slightly after each “pinch”.
• Be careful to keep the whole pot the same thickness.
• When you are finished forming the pot you can add decorations by pressing objects into the clay. Make sure to clearly write your name on the pot.
