Haungooah, Dean

Dean Haungooah was born into Santa Clara Pueblo in February, 1972. His father was Art Haungooah (Art Cody), a Kiowa who had married Martha Suazo of Santa Clara. In the Puebloan way, they lived at Santa Clara and Dean grew up there surrounded by a family of noteworthy potters: his father and mother, as well as Dolores Curran, Geri Naranjo, Kevin Naranjo, Santanita Suazo and Candelaria Suazo.

Dean says he began working with clay when he was only five years old. At the age of 15 he earned the First Place ribbon for Pottery in the Juvenile Division at the Gallup InterTribal Ceremonial. Later he earned a Second Place ribbon in the Adult Division at Gallup to go with it.

Dean says his favorite shape to work with is the seed pot, his favorite decorating technique is sgraffito. His designs incorporate elements from old Mimbres designs, especially Mimbres animals, insects and arachnids.

Like many Santa Clara potters he likes to smother his pots in manure as they are being fired. That turns the clay black and gives him a surface on which to apply his sgraffito designs. Then he often re-oxygenates sections of the surface to bring back that sienna color in his etched images.

Dean loves what he does as it allows him to give flight to his artistic expression without leaving home. He loves putting his hands in clay and seeing what is formed through him. Dean is also an avid bow hunter and is partial to heavy metal music. In his spare time he does youth mentoring with the teenagers in his village.