The Legacy of a Master Potter: Nampeyo and Her Descendants
Nampeyo, born of a Tewa mother and a Hopi father around 1870, was one of the most remarkable of the many talented Southwest Native American potters of this century. She died in 1945, leaving a vast number of descendants, many of whom are accomplished potters now. The Blairs have produced what will stand as the definitive biography of this remarkable artist, the result of 40 years of traveling, collecting, interviewing, and enjoying the work of Nampeyo and her clan. They begin with a history of the Tewa people and then introduce the story of Nampeyo's life and the development of her style under the threat of encroaching blindness. The book's third section deals with the painstaking details of pottery making, and the fourth looks at Nampeyo's talented descendants. The book is profusely illustrated with black-and-white pictures as well as a stunning 32-page color insert and has valuable appendixes with family lineage charts and design forms used by the family. An excellent in-depth look at Hopi-Tewa pottery for larger libraries with art and Native American collections.AGay Neale, Southside Virginia Community Coll. Lib., AlbertaCopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.