Deer Pot with Basket Design by Grace Medicine Flower, Santa Clara Pueblo

Large Deer Pot with Basket Design, 2005
by Grace Medicine Flower, Santa Clara Pueblo
hand built and carved clay
6" high x 6" diameter

Santa Clara potter Grace Medicine Flower's bold, sculptural works pushed boundaries and redefined Southwest pottery. Influenced by the traditional works of her family, Grace forged her own stylistic path using the sgraffito technique to define her work. This Deer Pot with Basket Design defies conventional expectations through the innovative use of deep carving in combination with intricately engraved sections. Each vessel Grace creates is a profound connection to her culture and a mastery of her craft.

Grace Medicine Flower was born in 1938 in Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico. She grew up surrounded by potters such as her mother and father Agapita and Camilio Tafoya, and her aunt, Margaret Tafoya. She began to work in clay, making traditionally styled pottery. In the late 1960s, Grace, and her brother Joseph Lonewolf, were among the first on Santa Clara to start using the sgraffito technique to carve their designs into the clay.

Grace uses a knife or a specially sharpened nail to cut and create her masterpieces. Grace recounts how her first piece of sgraffito pottery sold for $11.00, much more than her other traditional pieces. Her early pieces were signed, “Grace Hoover,” then signed with “Grace” and a four-petal flower. Today, she signs her work, “Grace Medicine Flower,” with a flower beneath her name. All of her work is made in the traditional coil method and then fired outdoors.

Grace Medicine Flower has had significant recognition for her innovation throughout her career. Jackie Kennedy-Onassis visited her; she was invited to the White House and had pieces in collections and museums worldwide. In the 1970s, Grace and Joseph were both honored with the New Mexico Medal of Honor to contribute to Santa Clara Pueblo. In addition to these honors, Grace has won significant awards at Gallup Ceremonials and other events.

Grace’s work moved from small round seed pots with incised animal designs to larger bowls, which combine deep carving with intricately engraved sections. Her “basket weave” bowls give the effect of an exposed basket lying just underneath the surface of the clay. To say that Grace Medicine Flower has changed the face of pueblo pottery would not be an understatement. To own one of her pieces is to own a part of history. While she produced less than 15 pieces a year, the demand among collectors for her pieces continued to rise with each new year and modern innovation.