Montoya, John

“The best teacher is Clay Mother herself.”

John Montoya was born into Sandia Pueblo in February 1960, the son of Bernanda Montoya-Vigil. He had a job in high school painting ceramics but after high school he gave 4 years of his life to the US Navy.

When he returned to Sandia, he got interested in reviving the Sandia pottery tradition. It was hard, though, because there were so few people left who knew the old ways and would teach him. There was also the problem of finding the clay he needed.

He indicated to Dr. Greg Schaaf that he had learned to make pottery from his grandfather but, in reality, he was mostly self-taught. He’d gone to a potter at another pueblo and asked him to teach while offering the traditional gift of tobacco. That potter told him “No, the best teacher is Clay Mother herself.”

So John started by working with commercial clay. Then he moved to using traditional clay. He never used a wheel and he always used natural paints. He also associated with potters like Thomas Tenorio and Andrew Padilla, learning bits and pieces from them.

John was an active potter from 1987 until he died in 2005. He produced traditional polychrome jars, dough bowls, owls, turtles and other figures, decorated with Anasazi– and Mimbres-Revival designs. He also often used a design of a deer standing in front of Sandia Peak.