Snowflake Flower

Cochiti Pueblo

Snowflake Flower was a potter from Cochiti Pueblo who mostly made figures, vases, storytellers and nativities. She was born Stephanie Cordero, daughter of Berina Cordero and sister of Ada Suina, at Cochiti Pueblo in 1931. It was her grandmother, Estaphanita Herrera, who inspired her to create pottery, it was her mother who taught her the basics of how to do it.

Her mother's and grandmother's styles were firmly rooted in the Cochiti pottery forms of the late 1800s, early 1900s: perhaps not as polished as today's forms but wildly imaginative for the time. That's what her mother taught and that's the tradition Snowflake Flower has carried on. However, she went to college and earned a degree before beginning to produce pottery in the late 1970s.

Then in 1983 her daughter went into a coma while giving birth. Over the next sixteen years Snowflake Flower made a lot of angels, singing songs to them as she made them, songs she'd learned from her parents as a child. She also added prayer feathers to everything she made during that time. Her daughter suddenly awoke in 1999.

These days Snowflake Flower is more known for her coyote figures.

Snowflake Flower signed her pieces: "Snowflake Flower" and added the name she gave to the piece.