Mary Ester Archuleta

Mary Ester Archuleta is a daughter of Margaret Tafoya and a sister of renown potters Shirley Tafoya, Mela Youngblood, LuAnn Tafoya and Toni Roller. While growing up in Santa Clara, she married and moved to San Juan Pueblo in the 1960’s. She was pivotal in the revival of San Juan incised pottery in the early 1970’s and is one of the few potters who can stone polish the tan coloration on her pottery with such a high shine. Mary has never been a prolific potter and rarely made large vessels. While Mary no longer makes much pottery, she has won numerous awards for her pottery at Santa Fe Indian Market and has been written about in various books including, “Born of Fire.”