Taylor, Eli

Some Hopi Kachina carvers are also known for producing intricately formed, carved and decorated pottery. Hopi artist Eli Taylor (Tuy-Qaw-Va: “Sun takes precedence over land”) is one of those.

Born around 1954, his parents were Dalton Taylor (Sun Clan) and Virginia Taylor (Greasewood Clan). He learned how to make thunder sticks from older boys when he was 10 years old and sold his first ones for $0.25. When he was 12, an elder who was both a minister and a judge taught him how to carve his first kachina doll. Later, his uncle, Walter Hamana, took Eli under his wing and taught him how to carve other basic kachinas. Then he began developing his own techniques as he learned from his mistakes. Today, he is considered to be one of the finest kachina carvers at Hopi.

Eli attended the Hopi Mission School and graduated from the Sherman Indian High School in Riverside, California in 1972. He spent the next eight years working as an industrial carpenter, then a year as a bank teller before returning to Hopi and becoming a full-time kachina carver.

As a potter, he has not been prolific at all.