She does a different kind of clay sculpture, some of it highly satirical of non-Indian tourists who visit the native pueblo. Nora's book is fiction, it tells the story of a very young pueblo Indian girl who gathers special clay for her grandma's potting. A uthor Rina is herself a child of clay, though her profession is not directly working with it. She has an MA in architecture and a PhD in American Studies. One of her essays is included in All Roads Are Good, a book of essays by Indian people who were asked to choose meaningful objects from the New Smithsonian-Heye collection, and write an essay centered on them about te meanings of art as seen through their own cultural perspectives.
B eing children of clay means much more than just being a potter.
It is to be and know that you are a child of the earth. Clay is the flesh of the Earth Mother. Mothers, actual Pueblo women, are very close to that flesh, Rina feels. P ottery is an especially feminine activity. There is a conspicuous element of play involved in making pots, and it really comes through when you watch or are part of the whole process.