Navasie, Charles

Charles Navasie was born to Loretta Navasie Koshiway on the Hopi Reservation in 1965. He learned the traditional methods of making Hopi-Tewa pottery from his mother and his grandmother, Joy Navasie (2nd Frogwoman).

Charles is known for his traditional Hopi shapes with tightly painted Sikyátki-Revival designs above the shoulder and polished clay beauty (often with fire clouds) below.

His color palette includes Jeddito yellow clay and Hopi white clay (in the Navasie family tradition) with traditional Hopi red and black paints (derived from crushed minerals and boiled down vegetation). His favorite designs include bird-hanging-from-sky-band, thunderbirds and eagle tails.

Charles specializes in making seed pots, vases, bowls and jars. He signs his pieces with the figure of a frog with “Navasie” written inside it.