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Denise Chavarria | |
| Birth Date: 1959 |
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Artist Gallery |
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| Denise Chavarria of Santa Clara pueblo began working with clay at age 16, inspired by her mother, Stella Chavarria, and her late grandmother, Teresita Naranjo. These matriarchs taught her all the fundamentals of working with clay, and encouraged her to continue the family tradition, perpetuating the legacy of pottery-making.
Along with her sister Loretta “Sunday” Chavarria, Denise gathers clay from the hills close to home within Santa Clara Pueblo. She then cleans the clay, mixes it with white ash, and allows it to set for about a day. Denise uses the traditional hand-coiling method to form the body, then designs and carves the pieces. After they’ve dried completely, she sands, polishes, and fires the finished pieces outdoors, using either horse dung to achieve the striking black-on-black effect, or an open fire for red pots.
Over the last few decades, she has nurtured her relationship with clay. She said “It’s hard work, but you have to be dedicated, and not be lazy – you can’t be lazy – because if you are, Mother Clay knows you are.”
Denise and her pottery have also been featured books such as "Fourteen Families in Pueblo Pottery", "Southwestern Indian Pottery Anasazi to Zuni," and "Santa Clara Portraits: A Proud Tradition."
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