Chee, Jonathan

Jonathan Chee was born to Dick and Rose Chee on the Navajo Nation in October, 1973. He told us he grew up knowing nothing about clay until he married Evelyn Manygoats. Then she and her mother, Betty Manygoats, taught him how to make pottery the traditional Dineh way.

Jonathan has been potting for more than 20 years now. He shows his work at the Heard Museum in Phoenix and the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff. He has also participated in the Santo Domingo Pueblo Arts and Crafts Show and at the Window Rock Arts and Crafts Show in Window Rock, Arizona.

Jonathan collects and processes his own clay and he fires his pottery using traditional methods but once his pieces have been fired, he finishes them with acrylic paints.

Jonathan says his favorite shape to work with is the pictorial bowl, especially if he is making a Monument Valley scene. He also enjoys making trucks, school buses, police cars, barrel racers and human figures. He says he gets his inspiration from everyday life around him and from Betty’s family. He says he’s happy as a Dineh Folk Artist and he just loves making his pottery creations.