White Dove, Shyatesa

“It is a very stressful thing to put a lot of time in the pot and [its] design – especially the large ones – and then to hear them pop!”

Shyatesa White Dove was born into Acoma Pueblo in 1956. Her parents were Margaret and James Garcia. She’s said she was inspired to make pottery by her grandmother, Connie Cerno. She’s also had great interest in reviving ancient Anasazi and Mimbres designs.

Today, Shyatesa specializes in making traditional shapes and forms and decorating them with traditional designs, especially the parrot and floral motifs. Sometimes she uses old pots for templates and recreates shapes and designs from the 1800s. Sometimes she collaborates with Hathaweh Bassett, another Acoma potter, and makes something completely different. As for her fears of a popout in one of her pieces, she sometimes paints molded greenware, too.