Naranjo, Paul

Born into Santa Clara Pueblo in 1957, Paul Naranjo grew up surrounded by some of the finest traditional indigenous potters on Earth. His father, Raymond Naranjo, was known for his ceramic animal figures and his carved ceramic models of Puyé Pueblo. Paul specialized in nature and wildlife sgraffito designs on brownware pottery.

There’s not a lot of information about Paul’s life but he did submit pieces for judging at the Santa Fe Indian Market and earned a number of prestigious awards for his work.

Paul passed his knowledge on to both his children, Alana and Luciano. Alana even participated in Santa Fe Indian Market in 1991 with her father, earning a Second Place award for an animal figure made by a student age 12 and under.

Kevin Naranjo worked with Paul a bit and tells us his sgraffito style was strongly inspired by Paul and by Paul’s sister, Marian Rose Naranjo. Sadly, Paul passed on in 2002.

Some Awards Earned by Paul

• 1988 – Santa Fe Indian Market, Third Place award for sgraffito design
• 1989, Santa Fe Indian Market, Second Place award for a miniature black piece with sgraffito decoration
• 1990, Santa Fe Indian Market, Best of Division award for non-traditional pottery (using new forms) made using traditional materials and techniques
  – First Place award for sgraffito style without stones on any color except black
• 1991, Santa Fe Indian Market, Second Place award for a black piece with sgraffito decoration and no stones
  – Second Place award for sgraffito design without stones on any color except black
• 1992, Santa Fe Indian Market, Third Place award for sgraffito decoration without stones on a black or black/two-tone piece