Seed Pot with Flower Design
by Glendora Fragua, Jemez Pueblo
etched clay, pigment, serpentine stone
1.5” high x 2.5” diameter
Native American pueblo potter Glendora Fragua was born in 1958 in St. Louis, Mo. and raised in San Francisco, Ca into a family of artists from the Pueblo of Jemez in New Mexico. In 1973, the Fragua Family moved from San Francisco to the Pueblo of Jemez so Glendora and her siblings could learn about their native culture.
Jemez Pueblo is located fifty miles northwest of Albuquerque and dates back to 1703. The pueblo has been relocated several times and for three centuries, the Jemez people fought the Spanish to finally settle where they are now.
While growing up in the Jemez Pueblo, Glendora observed her mother Juanita Fragua, a well respected and admired potter, design traditional pottery. In 1974, Glendora began nurturing her own talent and style. She experimented with a scratch technique known as Sgraffito.
The sgraffito technique requires a steady hand for the delicate, intricate and precise designs. Along with the designs on her pottery, Glendora also uses this technique to include her cornstalk trademark on the bottom of each pottery. The cornstalk is used to represent her family's origin in the Corn Clan of the Jemez Pueblo.
Glendora digs all of her clay from the Jemez reservation, where the family also digs a black mineral from the earth, which is used for black slip. They use this mineral instead of wild spinach, as many others potters do. The majority of the clay is a soft gray color, which when fired turns a beautiful buff color. Glendora uses a yellow clay, mixed with water as a slip that when fired turns a beautiful dark red.
Her accomplishments include awards in prestigious Native American Art Shows such as First Place at Santa Fe Indian Market, Best of Show at Gallup Ceremonial, First Place at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, AZ and Best of Show: Pottery at the Eiteljorg Museum Market in 2009.
