Gonzales, Barbara

Born in 1947, Barbara Gonzales is the great-granddaughter of Maria Martinez and granddaughter of Adam and Santana Martinez.

She credits her great-grandmother with changing the making of pottery from a craft to a fine art. Barbara also credits her great-grandmother with being a major force in the shaping and evolution of that fine art.

Barbara lived in Maria’s home at San Ildefonso Pueblo from the time she was five until she was ten. That is when she learned the basics of the traditional way of making pottery. Barbara says pottery making was such an integral part of Maria’s family life that she organically assimilated the skills simply by being in the presence. She also traveled with Maria to sell pots to tourists under the portal at the Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe and at the train depot in Albuquerque.

Barbara’s own first pieces were simple animal sculptures. She progressed into small jars, then bowls and spheres. Slowly Barbara developed her style of small sculptures, polychrome pottery and stone-inlaid, sgraffito-etched red and black ware.

Along with Popovi Da she was one of the early adopters of the two-tone technique (involving two firings to produce sienna effects on otherwise black pots). She also used inlaid turquoise, heishe beads and gemstones. Around 1973 she originated “the Spider” and “the webbing technique” in sgraffito-on-black pottery. That design pattern soon became her trademark.

Barbara participated in the Santa Fe Indian Market for many years, earning First, Second and Third Place ribbons often. She was included in the Maria Martinez: Five Generations of Potters exhibition at the Renwick Gallery in 1978 and the Masters of Indian Market exhibition at the Santa Fe Indian Market in 1996.

Barbara was chosen as a representative of Maria’s “craft lineage” in the 1997-8 Pottery by American Indian Women, The Legacy of Generations exhibition of the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

Some of the Awards Barbara has earned

• 2000 Santa Fe Indian Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division H – Non-traditional pottery, any forms using non-traditional materials or techniques, Category 1520 – Miscellaneous, unpainted: Second Place
• 1996 Santa Fe Indian Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division H – Non-traditional any forms using non-traditional materials or techniques, Category 1510 – Single figures, (animal & other), all other: First Place
• 1995 Santa Fe Indian Market, Classification II – Pottery – Division E – Traditional pottery, painted designs on burnished black or red surface: Best of Division
• 1995 Santa Fe Indian Market, Classification II – Pottery – Division E – Traditional pottery, painted designs on burnished black or red surface, Category 1203 – Bowls, over 6 inches in diameter: First Place
• 1995 Santa Fe Indian Market, Classification II – Pottery – Division E – Traditional pottery, painted designs on burnished black or red surface, Category 1206 – Plates: Third Place
• 1995 Santa Fe Indian Market, Classification II – Pottery – Division E – Traditional pottery, painted designs on burnished black or red surface, Category 1207 – Miscellaneous: First Place
• 1990 Santa Fe Indian Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division J – Non-traditional, any forms using non-traditional materials or techniques, Category 1403 – Jars & vases, unpainted (other than stoneware): Second Place
• 1988 Gallup InterTribal Ceremonial, Classification IV – Pottery-jar, seed jar, canteen: Third Place
• 1983 Santa Fe Indian Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division E – Traditional, painted designs on burnished black or red surface: Second Place
• 1977 Heard Museum Guild Indian Arts & Crafts Exhibit, Classification VII – Pottery, Division C – Miniatures, under 2-1/2″: Second Place
• 1974 12th Annual Scottsdale National Indian Arts Exhibition, Section C – Crafts, Classification VIII – Pottery, Division B – Adaptations: Honorable Mention