White Swann

Hopi

White Swann

White Swann (Dolly Joe Navasie) is a Hopi Potter of the Water Clan who grew up on the Hopi Reservation in the Antelope Mesa area, near Keams Canyon. She learned the art of making pottery early in life by watching and working with her mother, Eunice Navasie. Dawn Navasie is her sister.

White Swann first made something of clay when she was about six. She really liked it, so she kept doing it. By the time she was 17 she was an excellent potter and painter. Then she began going to shows like the Heard Museum Guild Indian Art Fair & Market, the Santa Fe Indian Market, the Museum of Northern Arizona Hopi Show... and earning many awards.

Her clay is hand dug and processed in the traditional way. She hand coils her pottery the traditional way and fires it outdoors with sheep dung. She also uses yucca leaves to make her paint brushes. The maroon coloration is achieved with the use of iron oxide whereas the yellow clay provides the orange finish (dependent on the firing).

She signs her pieces: White Swann, with a swan drawn nearby.