Pottery

Hopi/Tewa Family Information
Nampeyo potters

The Navasie Family is actually a mix of the Navasies and the Nahas. These are the potters noted for their use of white slip, and they include Eunice Navasie (Fawn), her daughters-Dolly, Dawn and Fawn; Joy Navasie (Frog Woman), and her daughters-Marianne Jim and Grace Lomahquahu; and Helen Naha (Feather Woman) and her daughters-Sylvia and Rainy. Also in the family is Agnes Nahsonhoya, who in our opinion, is one of the more imaginative Hopi potters

This pottery was made by Joy Navasie (Frog Woman)

Joy (originally Yellow Flower) “Frogwoman” Navasie, member of the Kachina Clan, was born in 1919 into the Hopi/Tewa Reservation.

Joy Navasie is the only one of three famous sister-potters still living. (Eunice [Fawn] and Helen [Feather Woman] are deceased.) Now eighty plus years old, she and her sisters are a part of one of the great families of Hopi potters.

She is the daughter of the famous Paqua (original Frogwoman) Naha, who was credited for originating the white slip elegant styled Hopi pottery. Paqua’s trademark was the frog symbol and it was passed down to Joy in 1939. Joy’s frog symbol has long webbed feet, while Paqua’s had short toes. Joy has been using her trademark since the age of 20.

Joy Navasie's extended family have continued her traditional work, but she has not produced any pottery since the mid 1990s.

Today Joy is the mother of six children and grandmother of over twenty, many acclaimed potters in the own right.

This pot has been created by Gloria Mahle - Hopi

Butterflies. Dragonflies. Moths. And more, just use your imagination. Gloria has picked her idea from a shard that came from the Sikyatki ruins.

Gloria has been an active Hopi potter since 1980. She credits Rainy Naha and Fawn Navasie as her mentors.

Gloria has appeared in several magazines and publications dealing primarily with Native American art and Hopi Pottery, in particularly.

She has also won numerous awards, including ribbons at the Museum of Northern Arizona Hopi Marketplace, and is best known for her symmetry and her detail in application and innovation.

Rainy Naha, Hopi-Tewa

Rainy Naha was born in 1949 into the Spider/Stick clan as the daughter of Helen Naha (Feather Woman) and the grand-daughter of Paqua Naha (the original Frog Woman). Her siblings include Sylvia Naha Humpheries (d.) and Burell Naha

Rainy has been a potter for more than thirty years, and very active during the last ten years. She was taught by her mother, Helen Naha, who was known as Feather Woman. Rainy signs all of her work with the feather used by her mother, plus her name, "Rainy;" so there is no mistaking the potter. Her work is primarily Hopi clay with a white slip applied before the polychrome designs, sometimes known as Walpi Polychrome.All of her pieces are made using traditional clay, paints, and methods of forming and firing.

Occasionally Rainy will make a piece reminiscent of her mother's work. From the beginning, Rainy has been an innovator and a designer of her own style. Almost every year, she comes up with a totally new design to stretch her imagination, and to give her market a fresh opportunity. Rainy, a Hopi-Tewa, lives near Polacca. However, she works at her mother's old home, some 20 miles south of Polacca, and below the south rim of Awatovi Mesa. She has won numerous awards at such shows as the Santa Fe Indian Market and the Heard Museum annual show.

Hummingbirds and parrots, bear paws and clouds are Rainy's additions to her family's designs. In addition to her imagery, Rainy has also added more clay slips to her work with the pieces often having up to five different colors.