Lewis, Carmel

Carmel Lewis Haskaya was born to Lucy M. Lewis and Toribio Haskaya Lewis of Acoma Pueblo in September, 1947. She passed on in 2019.

Carmel learned how to make pottery the traditional way as she grew up, watching and working with her mother and older siblings. Among her siblings were Ivan Lewis, Drew Lewis, Emma Lewis and Dolores Lewis.

Carmel was Lucy and Toribio’s youngest daughter. She excelled at making pottery. She was deeply involved in studying ancient Puebloan designs and was an active participant in the revival of Mimbres and Anasazi styles and designs.

Carmel earned multiple ribbons for her pottery at shows like the Santa Fe Indian Market, the New Mexico State Fair and the Gallup InterTribal Ceremonial.

Carmel’s favorite designs to paint were parrots eating berries from a bush, lightning bolts, rain clouds and rain. She made a lot of white ware and orange ware jars, bowls, seed pots, miniatures and canteens with black decorations. She also made a lot of Anasazi- and Mimbres-style polychromes.

Some Exhibits that featured works by Carmel

• Chocolate, Chili & Cochineal: Changing Taste Around the World. Heard Museum. Phoenix, AZ. 2013
• Home: Native Peoples in the Southwest. Heard Museum. Phoenix, AZ. 2005
• Anticipating the Dawn: Contemporary Art by Native American Women. Gardiner Art Gallery, Department of Art, Oklahoma State University. Stillwater, Oklahoma. January 10, 2000 – February 9, 2000. Note: group show curated by Anita Fields
• The Legacy of Generations: Women in Native American Pottery. National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington DC. 1997
• One Space: Three Visions. Albuquerque Museum. 1979