Wilson, Jimmy

Jimmy Wilson (1935-) is from the Dineh Naakaii dine’é (Mexican, or Wondering People) clan in Leupp, Arizona. He learned how to make pottery from Faye Tso.

In the beginning, Jimmy was only making ceremonial pottery. There was an old Dineh taboo against decorating pottery, explained this way by Mae Adson (a relative of Rose Williams): “The Anasazi started to over-decorate their pottery, and the wind destroyed them, because of that. That’s why we are told not to decorate pottery.”

After he was married, Jimmie began to incise and color designs and patterns on the sides of his pots. His imagery is derived mostly from Dineh Creation stories. Eventually he moved on to adding appliqué animals and figures to some of his pieces.