Honie, Antoinette

Hopi potter Antoinette Silas Honie learned how to make pottery by watching and working with her mother, Roberta Youvella Silas, as she grew up.

Roberta’s mother was from Laguna Pueblo. She never learned how to make pottery herself so she couldn’t teach Roberta how. After she was married, Roberta started learning how to make pottery from Helen Naha. In order to differentiate her Sikyátki-Revival designs from others at Polacca, she developed variants of the same ancient designs the Nampeyo family’s designs are based on. That’s what she taught to her children: Antoinette, Venora Silas, Louann Silas and Jofern Silas Puffer. All of them became potters.

Antoinette started making pottery on her own about the time she turned 15. Since then she has earned multiple ribbons at the Museum of Northern Arizona’s annual Hopi Show and Market.

Antoinette prefers to make Sikyátki-Revival pottery and decorate it with the very complicated design patterns that she learned from her mother.

Some of Antoinette’s work is represented in the object collection of the Heard Museum.