Steve Lucas is one of the leading Hopi-Tewa potters working today.  Each piece is coil-built, stone polished, painted with native clay slips and bee-weed (black), and traditionally fired.  Steve has won “Best of Show” at Santa Fe Indian Market, and his work remains some of the most refined and creative.  This new jar is a creative shape with a sharp shoulder and a sloping side. Steve said the piece is entitled, “Four Seasons”.  “Each panel is different color: White is winter, green is spring, red is summer, and brown is fall. The top of the shoulder has a ring of clouds.”  The jar is tightly painted with bee-weed (black) and white, green, red, and brown clay slips.  Each of the various colors is not just painted onto the piece, but also stone polished!  The shape with the sharp shoulder is perfect for this creative design.  The piece was traditionally fired and has a dramatic coloration from the firing.  It is signed on the bottom in the clay, “S. Lucas” and a mudhead (koyemsi) and an ear of corn (corn clan).  It is an innovative design in a classic form.

“When I first learned to make pottery, the red slip painted in the designs was difficult to work with. It wouldn’t take heat very well and would scorch and turn black. The red was also difficult to polish. My aunt Dextra had a deep red clay slip, so I experimented with it. I took some of our base clay and added the red to it, and it polished very well. I then decided to put some mica in there to get that sparkle. That’s where the new red came from, and Dextra liked how it turned out. I introduced them to that. It was nice that for my teacher, Dextra, I was able to share and teach her something.”  Steve Lucas, Spoken Through Clay

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Lucas, Steve (b. 1955)

Steve Lucas

Steve Lucas (b.1955) is a great-great-grandson of Nampeyo of Hano.  His grandmother was Rachel Nampeyo, and his great-grandmother was Annie Healing.  While Steve grew up around potters, he primarily learned the art from his aunt, Dextra Quotskuyva Nampeyo.  His pottery is amazingly thin-walled, and each piece has a dynamic use of form and design.  The pottery is coil-built, stone-polished, traditionally painted, and native-fired.  Steve uses traditional designs and often gives his own creative spin to the ancient imagery.  His pottery is signed with his name and the Mudhead symbol, or Koyemsi. This is reflective of his Hopi-Tewa clan.  Steve Lucas has won numerous awards for his pottery, including "Best of Show" at Santa Fe Indian Market. In addition, Steve is a featured artist in the book by the gallery owner, Charles S. King, 'Spoken Through Clay.'  We are pleased to carry Steve's work at our Scottsdale and Santa Fe locations. PLEASE NOTIFY ME OF NEW ADDITIONS FROM THIS ARTIST