Maria Ramita Martinez
Born1884
Picuris Pueblo
DiedOctober 1969(1969-10-00) (aged 84–85)
Resting placePicuris
NationalityAmerican
Known forPotter
StyleTraditional
SpouseJuan José Martinez

Maria Ramita Simbolo Martinez "Summer Harvest" (1884 - October 1969) was a Picuris Pueblo potter. Martinez learned traditional methods of creating pottery and has been recognized for preserving a cultural tradition of the Picuris Pueblo. Martinez collaborated with her husband, Juan José Martinez, who decorated her finished pots.

Biography

Martinez was born in Picuris Pueblo in 1884 to the Simbola family.[1] She learned to make pots by watching her mother, Solidad Simbola, make her own.[1] In the pueblo, she was known as "Summer Harvest."[2] She married Juan José Martinez, and the couple had six children together.[2] She and her husband collaborated on the pottery she made and sold their items together from the back of a wagon.[1]

Martinez died in October 1969 and was buried in Picuris.[3] A historic marker in New Mexico describes her contribution to the preservation of traditional pottery methods.[1]

Work

Martinez gathered clay from the hills outside Picuris.[4] Martinez used traditional methods to work on her pots which were generally red-brown in color and had a sparkles from the mica in the clay.[5] She would shape the pots and then her husband, Juan José Martinez, would decorate them before firing.[6]

Martinez's work is part of the collections of the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture[7] and the Leonard D. Hollister Collection at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Maria Ramita Simbola Martinez "Summer Harvest"". New Mexico Historic Women Marker Initiative. Archived from the original on 17 February 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  2. 1 2 Pike, David (2015). Roadside New Mexico: A Guide to Historic Markers, Revised and Expanded Edition. UNM Press. ISBN 9780826355706.
  3. ↑ "Maria Martinez". The Santa Fe New Mexican. 13 October 1969. Retrieved 16 August 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ Greenwood, Phaedra (23 October 2002). "Geronimo Martinez Wilson". The Taos News. Retrieved 16 August 2019 – via Newspapers.com. and "She Dreams of Her Home". The Taos News. 23 October 2002. p. B14. Retrieved 16 August 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Hills Protect Picuris Pueblo From Change". The Santa Fe New Mexican. 25 May 1958. Retrieved 16 August 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ Baldinger, Jo Ann, ed. (1999). Legacy : Southwest Indian art at the School of American Research. Santa Fe, New Mexico: School of American Research Press. pp. 66. ISBN 0933452578 – via Internet Archive.
  7. ↑ "Micaceous Bean Pot, 1956". New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  8. ↑ "Leonard D. Hollister Collection". University Libraries - Special Collections & University Archives. University of Massachusetts Amherst. Archived from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
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