Loretta Navasie

Hopi

Loretta Navasie is the daughter of Joy Navasie (2nd Frogwoman) and granddaughter of Paqua Naha, First Frogwoman. Loretta says she learned her pottery making skills from her mother but she had probably been watching both women making pottery since she was a toddler.

Loretta carries on the family tradition of working with black and red designs on white ware vessels. White ware is the hardest of Hopi potteries to produce but the Navasie family is famous for it. It requires a practiced hand at applying coats of white slip to a polished pot, then applying the decorations perfectly. If anything goes wrong, the pot has to be stripped down to the bare clay again and the process started over. The firing process takes great care, too.