Roxanne Swentzell

Santa Clara Pueblo

Roxanne Swentzell was born in Taos, New Mexico in 1962. It was clear she loved expressing herself in art early in life, making her first clay figures at the age of four. Her talent was recognized early and she got to spend two years at the Institute for American Indian Arts in Santa Fe before she graduated from high school. She went from IAIA to the Portland Museum Art School in Portland, OR. But after a year in Portland, she returned to her roots at Santa Clara Pueblo and has lived there ever since.

Roxanne developed her own style of pottery, a style in which her main pieces are interpretive figures obviously coming back in touch with their physical world and their emotional environment. Many of her pieces are full-length clay figures in which she attempts to display a range of emotions and moods. Apparently she is successful at this as her work is always in demand and she's taken home every major award for pottery and sculpture at one time or another.

In 2011 Roxanne was given the Native Treasures Living Treasure Award at the Santa Fe Indian Market.