Q: How did you get into pottery? Pottery has always been a big art movement in my culture. My father, Ray, is a painter and he encouraged our artistic talents and creativity. Growing up, I can always remember going to art galleries that housed American Indian art. Q: What is your heritage? My mother is Isletan and my father is Navajo. Both are Southwestern tribes. Q: Do you have any other family members that are artists? I come from an artistic family. My dad is a painter, my sister, Penny, is a poet and my grandmother, Anita, was a potter. My Uncle Bear and cousin, Jonathan, are well known flute makers. I also have another uncle, Rod that is a musician. My Aunt Josephine makes traditional Native American textiles. Q: How did you learn how to make pots? My Grandmother, Anita Abeita, taught me. I would visit her on the Isleta Reservation in New Mexico. She started out by showing me how to make simple pinch pots. Then, she taught me how to make bigger pots using the coiling method, painting, and firing techniques. After visiting with my grandmother, I got very inspired. I went to the local art store, bought some clay, and just started messing around with it. Eventually I started reading books on pottery and slowly developed a technique that I work with today. Q: When you approach your art do have an ideology or philosophy that you live by? I believe in passion. When you have passion, it will drive you to apprenticeship. And when you learn your craft you are left with the knowledge of creating your work. Through your process I firmly believe that patience is very important in the progression of your work. Q: You are Native American, but you classify your art as contemporary hand built decorative pottery. Why not classify your work as Native American Pottery? This has always been addressed by those who have become familiar with my work. I feel that true Native American Pottery is done by using traditional methods and most importantly, all the materials used are natural: the clay, paints, brushes, tools, and the firing. Although I am Native American and my building techniques are traditional, the materials are commercially made and the firing is done in commercial kilns, which makes a big difference. Q: You say that you do not use a wheel to make your pots, how do you get the shape so perfect and even? Symmetry is extremely important. I stop and check the shape in different stages of the building process; for me, a lot of it is stepping away from the piece and analyzing it from different angles. Then, I go back and fix the parts that are going askew. This is done throughout the whole building process; it is like a painter stepping back from their painting and analyzing it to check to see what is working and what is not working. Q: Do you sell your work? How do you sell it? Do you have a store or gallery? Oh, yes, I sell my work. I do not have a store or gallery. Mostly people find out about my work through “word-of-mouth.” I have sold my work to friends, they show a friend, and it goes on from there. So far, my clientele has been co-workers, art teachers, other artists, and art collectors. In addition, I have also sold pieces in art shows. Q: How long have you been making pottery and who have been your biggest influences been? I have been practicing pottery for about 7 years now. In the beginning, I studied the techniques of Pueblo potters such as Maria Martinez, Lucy Lewis, and Nampeyo. Then I became heavily influenced by the Mexican potter Juan Quezada, but my favorite potter was my Grandmother, Anita Abeita. Q: Where do you make your pieces? Do you have a studio? I do not have a traditional studio. I live in an apartment that is conducive for making art in Fullerton, California. I set aside an area in my kitchen to create art. Fortunately, I live by myself so the clay mess does not bother anyone---besides I love the smell of meatloaf in the oven when I am working. Q: How long does it take you to make a piece? That varies depending on how big the piece is and how intricate the design is...I have a full time job, plus I go to school, so whatever time I have free I use it to create my art, but I would say a good 2-3 weeks. Q: Is pottery the only art you create? Oh no, I think with most artists they are always using different mediums to express themselves. I also do a great deal of life drawing, painting, and I love playing the guitar and making my own songs--for me all these things feed off one another.