Mesa Verde National Park will host a pottery-making demonstration by Santa Clara Pueblo-born Starr Tafoya at 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 10 at the park’s Visitor and Research Center.
Starr will demonstrate how to mold clay into the desired shapes, explain the polishing and painting process, and finish by firing several pieces using traditional methods. She will have a number of finished pieces available for sale. The demonstration and sale, are part of the annual Four Corners Lecture Series.
Tafoya was born and raised in Santa Clara Pueblo south of Española, New Mexico. She has a teaching degree and teaches in the pueblo on a regular basis. She learned to make traditional Santa Clara red- and black-ware pottery from her mother, Jane Baca. As a team, they specialized in animal and bird figures as well as various types of geometric pieces.
Although Jane passed away in 2011, Tafoya continues the tradition.
The Four Corners Lecture Series features presentations about the archaeology, current Native American cultures, history, and natural resources of this area. All programs are free and open to the public.
The Four Corners Lecture Series is sponsored by the Anasazi Heritage Center; ARAMARK Parks and Destinations; Bureau of Land Management; Cortez Cultural Center; Crow Canyon Archaeological Center; Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum; Fort Lewis College Office of the President, Department of Anthropology and Center of Southwest Studies; Friends of Cedar Mesa; Colorado Archaeological Society, Hisatsinom Chapter; KSJD Dryland Community Radio; Mesa Verde Foundation; Mesa Verde Museum Association; Mesa Verde National Park; San Juan Basin Archaeological Society; and Southwest Colorado Canyons Alliance.
For a list of other programs in the series, go to www.mesaverde.org/four-corners-lecture-series.