Estevan, Paula

Born in 1967, Paula Estevan is from Acoma Pueblo. Making pottery since 1986, she learned traditional painting from her mother Patricia Estevan “Patsy” Mike. She learned how to make pottery from her great-grandmother, Mary Estevan Chino, with input from Mary Chino and Victoria Garcia. Then Paula took what they taught her and moved forward into water jars with extremely thin walls and eye-dazzling black-and-white geometric designs rendered with laser-like precision.

Paula’s hand coiled pots are exceptional examples of contemporary Acoma pottery created with perfect shape and form. Her process involves selecting a single Acoma design element and repeating it in an extremely fine progressive pattern on the entire surface of the pot.

Paula says her inspiration comes from her great-grandmother Mary Estevan Chino. Paula says she takes making her pottery very seriously and, at the same time, she admits the creative process is very therapeutic for her.

Paula primarily makes black-on-white and black-and-red-on-white seed pots, jars and vases and decorates them usually with an eye-dazzling geometric design. She also makes a few “flat pots” every year that she likes to decorate with designs taken from prehistoric pots found in the Mimbres Valley.

Paula has never shown her works at either Santa Fe Indian Market or Eight Northern Pueblos Arts and Crafts Show. She signs her work: “P. Estevan, Acoma, NM.”