Born and raised on the Hopi reservation in northeast Arizona, Steve Lucas is the great, great grandson of the legendary potter, Nampeyo. Lucas’ Hopi name is Koyemsi, the word for the mud head clown in the Hopi-Tewa language. As a member of the Koyemsi clan, Lucas signs each pot with the mud head logo as well as the symbol of the Nampeyo family’s corn clan.
Living up to the name of his distinguished relative, Lucas has emerged as one of the premier artists from the Nampeyo family. He is a consistent winner of blue ribbons at the nation’s most prestigious shows, including the Gallup Ceremonial, the Santa Fe Indian Market, and the Annual Heard Museum Indian Fair and Market.
Much of the artist’s success is due to the laborious, painstaking process involved in creating his pots. “I dig my own clay from deposits that have been in my family for several generations. Some of these deposits are known only by members of my clan,” says Lucas. “Pottery came into this part of the world around 500 A.D….I still use the same, traditional method -- coiling, pitching, scraping -- that was brought from that time, some 1,500 years ago.” |
