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Dora Tse Pe
San Ildefonso Pueblo
Dora Tse-Pe
Dora Gachupin was born into Zia Pueblo in 1939. Candelaria Gachupin, her mother, taught Dora the basics of traditional Zia pottery production but then Dora married Johnny "Tse-Pe" Gonzales of San Ildefonso Pueblo and moved to his home there. Her new mother-in-law, Rose Gonzales, taught Dora how to make San Ildefonso red and black ware. Rose also taught Dora to polish as Zia potters almost never polish, preferring to use a colored slip on their pottery instead.
Rose Gonzales was born in San Juan Pueblo and moved to San Ildefonso after she married robert Gonzales. Rose brought the San Juan methods of pottery making with her and claimed to have taught the Santa Clara and San Ildefonso potters to carve their pottery. Dora worked with Rose for more than ten years, then went out on her own. She says she was inspired by Maria Martinez' son Popovi Da and her grandson Tony Da. Rose also had great influence over Dora's creations.
The first prize Dora ever earned was a blue ribbon at the 1969 New Mexico State Fair for a plain black pot she had made with Rose. In 1988 and 1991 she earned the prestigious Best in Traditional Pottery Award at the Santa Fe Indian Market.
Dora and Tse-Pe did a lot of work over the years experimenting with different clays, forms, textures and designs. As much as Dora always insisted she's a traditional potter, she's also always pushing the envelope of what can be done using traditional methods in new ways. A few years ago the Southwest Association of Indian Arts awarded her the title of "Master of Indian Market".
Dora often signs her pieces "Dora of San Ildefonso".
Brown jar with fire cloud and inlaid turquoise
3 in H by 2.5 in Dia
Black jar with sienna spot, sgraffito bear design and inlaid coral and turquoise
3 in H by 3.5 in Dia
Polished black jar with brown rim, inlaid turquoise and carved avanyu design slipped with micaceous black clay
8.5 in H by 9.25 in Dia
Polished black bear with red eyes
1 in H by 1.75 in Dia
Two-tone black and brown jar with a turquoise inlay
5 in H by 3.75 in Dia
Plain black shouldered water jar, 1st prize at SWAIA and at Heard Museum
8.75 in H by 8.25 in Dia
Two-tone black and brown jar with a turquoise inlay
4 in H by 3.5 in Dia
Black and sienna jar with a turquoise inlay
3 in H by 3.25 in Dia
Kiva step rim on a red jar lightly carved with an avanyu design plus inlaid turquoise and micaceous slip around the rim
6.25 in H by 4.5 in Dia
3.25 in H by 2.5 in Dia
2.75 in H by 4 in Dia
Collaboration with Tse Pe
1.5 in H by 2.25 in Dia
A sienna rim on a black jar lightly carved with an avanyu design plus inlaid turquoise and micaceous slip
5.75 in H by 4.75 in Dia
An inlaid turquoise on a carved avanyu surrounding the neck of a black jar with a sienna rim
5.75 in H by 7.5 in Dia
A sienna rim on a miniature black bowl
1.5 in L by 1.5 in W by 1 in H
A sienna spot on a black jar with an organic opening and an inlaid piece of turquoise3 in Dia by 2.5 in H