Lomakema, Lorna

A member of the Hopi-Tewa Kachina/Parrot Clan, Lorna Lomakema was born at Hano in 1930. She is the daughter of Sadie Adams, a Hopi potter most famous for her tiles. Lorna recalls, “My earliest recollection of my mother and tiles was when the Coltons [Harold S. Colton and Mary-Russell Ferrell Colton] at the Museum of Northern Arizona asked her to make the tiles framing the announcement boards at the entrance.”

Lorna began her pottery career around the time she turned 40 and has always created her pottery in the traditional manner, with clay preparation a key step. The process begins with digging the clay from the surrounding mesa areas at Hopi. Soaking the clay in water hydrates the material so the rocks, weeds, and other foreign debris can be removed. The clay is strained and allowed to sit; then water is skimmed off until the proper consistency is reached.

After kneading the mixture thoroughly, the form of the vessel begins to evolve from the traditional method of coiling, pinching and scraping. When dried sufficiently, the vessel is sanded followed by stone polishing.  Polishing can take several hours if it is a large pot. Painting designs with vegetable and mineral colors is the final step before the pot is fired.

Lorna’s firepit is composed of a screen placed over the fuel of wood and cow manure. Pot shards are placed over the new pottery to cover and protect it from taking on too much heat. Additional manure is added. After several hours, when the fire has burned down and the pottery cools enough, the pots are carefully removed and inspected.

Lorna always said she never knew what she was going to make when she entered her workshop. She would just start playing with a ball of clay and see what developed.

Lorna’s favorite designs feature Polik Mana (Butterfly Maiden, Woman-Drinking-Water) and other katsinam. She signs her work: Lorna Lomakema, with a flower hallmark similar to her mother’s: a five petal blossom with one dot on each petal. Lorna put her pottery tools down around 2000 and hasn’t made anything since.