After high school graduation in Santa Fe, Sharon returned to Acoma Pueblo and began teaching herself pottery. She has followed her mother’s traditional steps, using gray clay mined from secret sources. The clay, tempered in the old way with pottery shards, turn bone white when kiln fired. Each pot is hand coiled, coated with white slip, and polished with a stone. Sharon grinds black and red rocks against a larger “painting” rock to make pigment. She has specialized in whimsical, Mimbres-inspired animals and most recently, in fine line black-on-white and eye dazzler designs.

“The painting is what I love most because you can become really creative. Sometimes I dream of designs,” she says.

Sharon received the Santa Fe Indian Market’s 2002 Standards Pottery Award for Excellence in Utilitarian Vessels.

Tribal Affiliation

Acoma