Martha Arquero
 Cochiti Pueblo 

Nativity
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Signature
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Similar work by Martha Arquero
About Martha Arquero:

Martha Arquero was born in 1944 into the Cochiti Pueblo. She has been making pottery sculptures since the late 1960's. Martha was inspired to continue the family tradition of clay sculpting by her Mother, Damacia Cordero. Damacia taught her daughter all the fundamentals of clay sculpting that her Mother taught her.
       Martha specializes in handmade clay sculptures like mermaids, frog storytellers, nativity's, and traditional storytellers. She uses all natural pigments to hand coil her sculptures. Martha gathers her clay from the hills nearby her home. She learned how to clean, soak, mix, shape, sand the sculpture for the right texture, and fire her sculpture the traditional way, outdoors. The colors Martha uses on her sculptures are also made from natural vegetables and minerals that Mother Earth provides for her. Martha signs her sculptures as: Martha Arquero, Cochiti. Martha is related to the following artists: Josephine Arquero, and Marie Laweka (sisters).

Awards:
-Santa Fe Indian Market 2nd Place
-Santa Fe Indian Market 1st Place 1984

Publications:
-Storytellers and Other Figurative Pottery
-The Pueblo Storyteller
-Collections of Southwestern Pottery
-Talking with the Clay
-Southern Pueblo Pottery 2,000 Artist Biographies
(Taken from this source.)

For more than 30 years Martha Arquero has been popular for her finely made jars, whimsical mermaids, miniature Nativity sets and most recently, large figures. She is perhaps best known for her frog storytellers-the frog being an important part of story telling tradition at Cochiti. She is the daughter of Damacia and Santiago Cordero. Martha learned pottery making from her mother, who was famous for her traditional Storyteller figures. Martha received first and second place awards at Indian Market in Santa Fe in 1984.
(Taken from this source.)