Hawley, Michael

Michael Hawley (1948-2012) was an Anglo artist from Scottsdale who got interested in making Hopi pottery. He was sort of adopted into a Hopi family and was officially allowed to use Hopi clay and methods, but he had to source his own designs: he couldn’t copy any designs from anyone else (living, anyway).

He dug all his clay on Antelope Mesa, used only vegetal and mineral paints and ground-fired his pots in a pit using coal, just like the ancients did. He called it “Chakoptewa Polychrome,” in honor of his name: Chakoptewa (meaning: friendly white man). The majority of his pieces were in the Sikyátki-Revival (which is now termed “Hano Polychrome”) style.