Cain, Mary

Mary Cain was born into Santa Clara Pueblo in 1916. She was the daughter of Christina Naranjo and Jose Victor Naranjo. She and her sisters, Teresita Naranjo and Mida Tafoya, grew up learning how to make pottery with their mother and grandmother, Sara Fina Tafoya. By the time she was a teenager, Mary was well established in the Pueblo pottery world.

Mary participated in the Santa Fe Indian Market many times over the years, earning many awards for her carved redware and blackware. Among her favorite designs were the avanyu and the bear paw.

Like her mother and grandmother, Mary passed her pottery-making knowledge and skills on to her own children and grandchildren, and to the children and grandchildren of others in the pueblo.

Mary’s Tewa name was Blue Rain and her granddaughter, Tammy Garcia, formerly owned and operated the Blue Rain Gallery (named in Mary’s honor) with her now ex-husband Leroy (who now owns and operates the gallery on his own).

In 2009, the Southwest Association of Indian Artists honored Mary with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Mary passed away in 2010.