Small Pottery Bowl, c. 1980
by Carmel Lewis (1947-2015), Acoma Pueblo
clay, pigment
2" high x 3" diameter
Born into Acoma Pueblo in 1947, Carmel Lewis was the youngest daughter of Acoma matriarch Lucy M. Lewis. She learned everything she needed to know about making traditional Acoma pottery from one of the best, as she grew up. Famed potters Emma Lewis-Mitchell and Dolores Lewis-Garcia were her older sisters.
Carmel made polychrome, black-on-white and black-on-orange seed pots, bowls, jars and canteens. It seems her designs were mostly taken from Mimbres designs seen on pot shards she found on the ground around where she lived. Carmel was very dedicated to keeping the memory of the Mimbres people and their designs alive.
