Full of joy

Kathleen Wall (Jemez)

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SANTA FE, NM

Kathleen Wall remembers that at the age of 8 she was usually playing outside at Jemez Pueblo. One day she paid more attention to her mother preparing clay for her pottery on the dining room table. “I was more attentive at that time and it was a nurturing time for me. I remember the smell of the clay. All of our materials are so humble. Learning about clay and pottery was also humble and nurturing. My mother and my aunts never sat me down to teach me anything. I learned through observation and from their nurturing.”

In 2016, Kathleen was the Eric and Barbara Dobkin Native Artist Fellow at the School for Advanced Research in Santa Fe. This year, the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture (MIAC) named her as the 2020 recipient of the Native Treasures Living Treasures award that “honors Native American artists who have made outstanding artistic contributions to the field of indigenous arts and culture.”