Sammy Naranjo, (Okuwa Nae' Khung Tsire meaning Dark Cloud Bird), was born in 1972 into the Pueblo of Santa Clara. He is a member of the Tree Clan and is related to Barbara Martinez (birth mother), Flora Naranjo (adoptive mother), Glenda Naranjo (aunt), Vickie Martinez (sister) and Chris and Manuel Martinez (brothers).

Sammy tells us he was about twelve when his mother, Flora Naranjo, inspired him to create traditional carved pottery. Today, Sammy specializes in and is well known for his black and sienna jars decorated with finely executed sgraffito designs such as the Avanyu (water serpent), feather patterns and bear claws.

Sammy gets his clay from a sacred place on Santa Clara Pueblo. He processes the clay himself, ridding it of impurities and preparing it for use. Then he builds a pot by hand coiling and shaping it, then by polishing it with stones. He fires his black pots the traditional way, outdoors with wood and horse manure. In his words: "I enjoy making pottery because I like to come up with my own traditional designs. I also find that etching my pots is a challenging and rewarding experience. My pottery is unique in the way that no other pot is the same. It is like the pottery is alive. It wants to be a certain way and no matter what I do it won't change the outcome of what the pot wants to look like."

Sammy has earned awards at the New Mexico State Fair, Eight Northern Indian Arts & Crafts Show and the Arizona State Museum. He signs his work "Sammy Naranjo, Santa Clara Pueblo."

Melony Gutierrez is a potter from Santa Clara Pueblo. She is also a basket weaver and an educator. She says she learned how to make pottery after becoming Sammy Naranjo's partner.

Legoria Tafoya was Melony's great-grandmother but through the generations, her family line trended into weaving baskets and away from making pottery.

Melony has specialized in making turtle figures with carved, sgraffito and painted designs, sometimes with sienna spots and often with inlaid stones.

Some Awards Won by Melony

• 2023 Santa Fe Indian Market, Classification IIC, Category 701 - Carved or incised, black or red, under eight inches, Honorable Mention

Most people think that miniature pottery is something new in the world of Native American pottery. In reality, archaeologists have found miniature pottery in the remains of ancient ruins in Chaco Canyon, Mesa Verde, across eastern Arizona, southern New Mexico and south to the Paquimé and Casas Grandes region in northern Mexico. Archaeologists working in the eastern US have found miniature pottery spread across Early Woodland Culture sites, too, dated up to 1700 years ago.

We have no idea as to why the ancients created miniature pottery but there's lots of speculation. Perhaps it was made as toys for children. Perhaps it was made by children learning to make pottery, and as their expertise grew, the size of their pieces grew, too. Perhaps it was made and placed in a firing pit as a good luck charm, hoping that other pots being fired in the pit would survive the firing process and not crack or break. Perhaps it was made for some ceremonial purpose we have no possibility of knowing. We do know that in North America, almost every pottery-making group of ancients made miniature pottery. They decorated it, too, just like the full size pottery the women of the time were making.

As the rebirth of traditionally made Native American pottery has unfolded over the last century, research into the ancient forms, styles and designs has also brought the miniature back into focus. There are more than a few potters these days making tiny gems again, similar to and, at the same time, more refined than the products of the potters of prehistory. And while some are still being made by children learning as they grow up, many more are being made by established adult potters. Some have made their entire careers around the making of miniatures while others sometimes make a few miniatures to complement the full range of forms and styles of full size pieces they make.