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Pottery-making
is a thriving art form at many of the Southwest Indian pueblos and
on the Navajo reservation today. Much of it looks very contemporary
yet traditional methods are still used. Some of the well-known
pueblos where pottery is made are Santa Clara, San Ildefonso, Hopi,
Acoma, Zuni, Cochiti, Laguna and Santo Domingo. Pottery, old
or new is traditionally made without the use of a wheel. The walls
of the piece are built up by coiling ropes of clay on top of one
another, then scraping and smoothing the surface to obliterate any
trace of the coils. After the pot has dried, a watery clay
soup, called a slip, is wiped on the surface, then polished with
a smooth stone. If a design is to be painted, this is  done
after polishing, but before firing. The firing is mostly done outside
in the open. The pots are placed on a metal grate and covered with
scrap metal or large pottery fragments. The fuel, usually dried
dung cakes or wood, is placed under, around, and over the pile,
then ignited. Generally, the fire is simply allowed to burn down.
If black pots are desired, the entire heap is completely smothered
with powdered manure and fine ash after the fire has reached its
peak. However, some artists today are kiln firing. If
the pottery is to have graffito or light carving, this is done after
firing.
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