Lewis, Ivan

“I used to talk to the mermaids at Cochiti Lake. They would come out around midnight. I’m the only one who knows where they are.”

Ivan Lewis (1919-2001) was the son of Acoma Pueblo potter Lucy M. Lewis. He grew up in a home surrounded by some of the finest potters of Acoma Pueblo but he was never interested. He didn’t really stick his hands in the clay until after he’d married Rita Banada from Cochiti Pueblo. First though, he served in the military in World War II. He and Rita were married while he was on leave in 1944 and after his honorable discharge in 1946, he moved to her home at Cochiti Pueblo.

From the beginning, Rita’s mother, Ascencion Banada, kept urging Ivan to learn how to make pottery and slowly Rita started teaching him. Around 1965 he got a regular job working on the construction of Cochiti Dam and Reservoir. That took 12 years, during which time the construction crew destroyed the main source of the white and red clays used by Cochiti potters. New clay pits had to be found and the new clays had to be worked with.

In 1977, Ivan and Rita finally became full-time potters. Ivan specialized in making figures. Among his favorites were mermaids and cowboys, although he enjoyed making deer, sheep, pigs and drummers.

In 1984, Ivan earned the First, Second and Third Place ribbons in the Figures category at Santa Fe Indian Market. In 1990 he earned the First and Third Place ribbons for Figures again. Sometimes he and Rita collaborated on their pieces but usually they didn’t. She earned more ribbons than he did.