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Above, David Shaner demonstrates production pottery-throwing. At right,
Adam and Santana Martinez use "cowpies" to block the cracks of their simple
kiln. They held a special firing of their ceramic pieces on the HUB lawn Satur
day.
Robert Winokur, professor of ceramics at the Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia,
'adds some finishing touches to his unusual creation.
"The Living Tradition of Maria Martinez" The 97 year-old Tewa
Indian autographs copies of her biography, written by Susan Peter
son, in front of the HUB Gallery.
' '
Ceramic show features dazzling
antique and modern techniques
By LYNNE MARGOLIS
Daily Collegian Staff Writer •
Eisenhower Auditorium may be an
unlikely setting for the uttering of Indian
ceremonial prayers or the construction
of 12-foot cacti, but that's exactly what
went on during the 11th annual Super
Mud conference held here this past
weekend.
Approximately 1,700 students,
teachers and professionals converged on
Happy Valley Thursday for the ceramics
invitational. David DonTigny, head of
the University's ceramics department,
said the turn-out for this year's con
ference was the largest ever.
'Clay is a very humbling material. There's so much
to know about it that everyone feels the need to
share what they know, and that's the Super Mud
idea.'
About Super Mud, DonTigny com
mented, "There's a lot of gathering
around and exchanging of ideas and
information. It's like having a class with
300 professors, 600 students, plus all the
top professionals in the field."
Clay is a very humbling material," he
said. "There's so much to know about it
that everyone feels the need to share
what they know, and that's the Super
Mud idea."
'A legend in her own time,' Martinez has been
practicing her unique artistry for more than three
quarters of a century.
He should know. As "The Father of
Super. Mud," DonTigny is the man
responsible for originating the con
ference that is now recognized as The
main event in the world of ceramics art.
Besides the student invitational
exhibit currently on display in Zoller
Gallery, this year's convention featured
demonstrations by five of America's
leading ceramic artists.
David Shaner, a prOduction potter
from Montana, demonstrated his wheel
throwing technique. David Middlebrook,
an avant-garde California ceramics
artist, built the towering cactus for his
Super Mud demonstration. Robert
Winokur, professor of ceramics at
Philadelphia's Tyler School of Art,.
explained how he makes his useful, yet
whimsical pots, and Wayne Higby,
professor and chairman of ceramics at
Alfred University (site of the country's
Fitt7,l
"Spider Web" by Barbara Gonzales is just one example of fine detail in hand
crafted pottery on display at Super Mud.
Super Mud
first ceramics program), put together
an example of his incredible raku work.
But the star attraction of Super Mud
'77 was a 97-year-old Tewa Indian named
Maria Martinez. Hailed as "one of the
greatest living American potters," and
"a legend in her own time," by artists
and critics alike, Martinez has been
practicing her unique artistry for more
than three-quarters of a century.
Maria's great-granddaughter, Bar
bara Gonzales, narrarated for the
audience Saturday while her mother,
Anita, and her grandparents, Adam and
Santana, demonstrated the pottery
technique that has become a Martinez
trademark and family tradition.
The tiny black pots for which the
family has become famous look
deceptively simple on display in the
HUB. But one must possess knowledge
of the family's techniques in order to
know exactly how to combine the
volcanic ash and humus ( topsoil) into a
curable clay body, and fashion the
material into a Martinez pot. Each pot is
constructed entirely by hand, using only
coils, water, and potato-chip-like
shaping tools sliced from gourds.
The beautiful lustre on a finished
Martinez pot is created while it is still
' tgreenware" ( before firing). The pot is
first sandpapered and wiped with a
damp cloth and then several layers of
shale slip (a thick liquid) are applied.
A layer of lard is added as a moisture
retainer before the pot is polished. It is
this polishing, or burnishing process,
which gives each pot a shiny finish. A
smooth stone or yucca leaves are used to
achieve the effect.
Yucca leaf tips are also used in slip
trailing, the process used to make the
intricate designs found on Martinez pots.
The leaf tips are better than commercial
brushes, Barbara said, because they
make finer lines.
The pot-building procedure is like a
ceremony, Barbara said, because
prayers are recited during each step.
Before the demonstration was started,
everyone in Eisenhower was asked to
join Maria and her family in an Indian
prayer for the success fo the pots to be
crafted.
Before firing, the pots have a brick-red
lustre, but the smoke created during
firing is caught under the shale surface.
This gives the pots the rich black tone
they are noted for.
In a separate demonstration on the
HUB lawn, Adam and Santana fired
seimral of their pots.
The kiln consisted of a, simple metal
grate resting on bricks that had been
placed in a bed of sand. Metal plates
were put on top of the grate, the pots
were stacked on these. Other plates were
leaned around the sides to block out the
dirt and wind. The kindling, consisting of
branches and hay, was positioned un
derneath the grate before stacking. Once
everything was in place, Adam and
~ ,
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A Martinez original may command a high price, but most pieces are
sold before they are out of the kiln.
The Daily Collegian
'77
Photos by
Bob Gumaer
and Phil Norton
1 - „ `-",,.•
Thursday, November 10, 1E77-1
Santana used dried manure patties to fill
in the cracks. Some kerosene was
poured over the kiln and it was ignited.
Smoke filled the air as Adam and
Santana poked and prodded between the
cracks of dung, but that didn't deter the
huge ; crowd of curious onlookers. Many
were - popping camera shutters con
tinuously. If there was one striking
aspect of the entire Super Mud con
vention, it was the distracting profusion
of amateur photographers snapping
away at anything they could focus.
Only an hour after the firing was
started, Adam and Santana were taking
the finished pots out of the kiln. The
result beautiful, lustrous black pots,
were claimed immediately by art fan
ciers who could afford to add a Martinez
pot to their collections. What they came
away with, however, was not only an
expensive art object, but the result of
five proud generations of Indian
heritage. And that's priceless.