Mothers would teach their daughters how to smooth the rolled snakes that are coiled one on top of each other to form an integral piece and how to fire each vessel in special outdoor pits built near the home. T oday, both men and women are involved with all aspects of the pottery-making procedure. Fathers, mothers, sons and daughters are sharing their talents and techniques with each other. Contemporary Pueblo potters still dig their clay from traditional clay beds and hand-form their vessels in much the same way as their ancestors did. After being sun dried, the pottery is fired for a certain amount of time according to the potter s calculations.
Patient polishing with a river stone creates a fine, high gloss surface.
Paints that are made from native plants and minerals are applied to the surface with brushes that historically were made out of dried yucca leaves. The painter draws on designs particular to his or her Pueblo but interprets them in a personal way. T he creation of pottery is a living tradition that evolves and changes with each succeeding generation. While some potters prefer to follow ancestral methods of forming, firing and painting the clay, others are using technological advances to help them produce pieces more easily and with great safety. Traditionally, pots were only fired outside in special firing pits fueled by wood or manure.