Lewis, Eric

Born in 1978, Eric Lewis is a potter from Acoma Pueblo. He was born into an acclaimed family of potters: his mother, Sharon Lewis, his father, Bernard Lewis and his paternal aunts: Diane Lewis, Carolyn Concho, Judy Lewis, Marilyn Ray and Rebecca Lucario.

His learning of the traditional art began through observing members of his family making pottery as he grew up. However, he says his design work was influenced most by the art teachers he studied with in school.

Eric began making pottery himself around 2000 but didn’t become a full-time artist until about 2010. It was about that time when he began making a name for himself with his black and white “doodles,” bold black and white graphic designs reminiscent of some tattoos.

The curly designs are a break with the traditional fine line Acoma motifs and are more reminiscent of Santo Domingo or Cochiti flourishes. However, his seed pots and bowls are created using Acoma white clay, the hand-coil method of construction and then hand decorating with naturally derived mineral and organic slips.

Eric participates in the Santa Fe Indian Market and in the Heard Museum Guild Indian Art Fair & Market every year and has earned a number of blue ribbons at both.

He says his favorite shapes to make are jars and he loves to decorate them with his black tattoo designs. Eric also says he gets his inspiration from seeing his people’s pottery tradition continue and grow. He also tells us he loves music, all kinds of music.