Tafoya, Sara Fina
Sara Fina (or Serafina or Sera Fina or Sarafina) Tafoya was born to Filomena Cajete and Desederio Gutierrez of Santa Clara Pueblo around 1863. She was bilingual, speaking Tewa and Spanish. She never learned to speak English nor to read or write. It was her children who signed her name, usually Manuel as he often assisted her. Margaret was adamant about the double name context (Sara Fina) saying Sara was the name given by her godmother and Fina was the name given by her godfather.
Dates and names were kind of fuzzy back then as the records were kept by the Santa Clara Mission Church and the church itself was often in such disrepair that the priest would only visit now and then to hold services in people’s homes. Records were easily lost and entries easily not made. Entries were also not timely as they were generally made after a person’s baptism, which could happen years after their birth.
In 1883 Sara Fina married Jose Geronimo Tafoya (1863-1952). They later told their children that in place of a ring, Geronimo presented her with a dime as a token of their marriage. The dime was later made part of a turquoise necklace that she often wore.
1883 was the same year her sister, Pasqualita Tani Gutierrez was born. Pasqualita grew up in Sara Fina’s household.
Sara Fina and Geronimo had seven children, three of whom became potters of note: Christina Naranjo, Camilio Tafoya and Margaret Tafoya. Their son Manuel became a painter, even painting some of Margaret’s early jars before Margaret learned to carve.
Sara Fina was well-known for her large black storage jars but she also made utilitarian pieces in black, red and micaceous clay. She was also skilled in the use of herbs and native medicines. She was a practical nurse and the midwife preferred by many among the Santa Clara people. She was an accomplished seamstress who clothed her own family and others, too. When her help was needed in the fields for planting, cultivating or harvesting, she was right there. At the same time, she was well-known for her hospitality.
By the early 1900s Sara Fina was the leading potter at Santa Clara and was well positioned when the market for pottery began to demand a higher quality of pot. It is said that around 1908 Maria Martinez went to Sara Fina to ask her how to make black pots. The potters of San Ildefonso may have forgotten how to do that over the last several hundred years but the potters of Santa Clara hadn’t: Sara Fina graciously showed her the whole process. Sara Fina is also credited with having developed the first Santa Clara carved black ware in 1922.
In the 1930s, Sara Fina and her children were earning awards at juried competitions like the Santa Fe Indian Market. They also often traveled from Santa Clara to Taos or Santa Fe to sell their work.
Most of Sara Fina’s early work consisted of undecorated utilitarian pieces. Then she added scalloped rims and impressions of bear paws and rainbow bands. She made dough bowls, water jars, storage jars, canteens, dishes, small bowls, candlesticks and more, some of it micaceous.
Sara Fina passed on in 1949, leaving her legacy in the hands of her children. They have expanded on it and passed it on well.