Maria Ramita Martinez Explained

Maria Ramita Martinez
Birth Date:1884
Birth Place:Picuris Pueblo
Resting Place:Picuris
Nationality:American
Known For:Potter
Style:Traditional
Spouse:Juan José Martinez

Maria Ramita Simbolo Martinez "Summer Harvest" (1884 - October 1969) was a Picuris Pueblo potter. Martinez learned traditional methods of creating pottery and has been recognized for preserving a cultural tradition of the Picuris Pueblo. Martinez collaborated with her husband, Juan José Martinez, who decorated her finished pots.

Biography

Martinez was born in Picuris Pueblo in 1884 to the Simbola family. She learned to make pots by watching her mother, Solidad Simbola, make her own. In the pueblo, she was known as "Summer Harvest."[1] She married Juan José Martinez, and the couple had six children together. She and her husband collaborated on the pottery she made and sold their items together from the back of a wagon.

Martinez died in October 1969 and was buried in Picuris.[2] A historic marker in New Mexico describes her contribution to the preservation of traditional pottery methods.[3]

Work

Martinez gathered clay from the hills outside Picuris.[4] Martinez used traditional methods to work on her pots which were generally red-brown in color and had a sparkles from the mica in the clay.[5] She would shape the pots and then her husband, Juan José Martinez, would decorate them before firing.[6]

Martinez's work is part of the collections of the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture[7] and the Leonard D. Hollister Collection at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.[8]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Pike, David. Roadside New Mexico: A Guide to Historic Markers, Revised and Expanded Edition. UNM Press. 2015. 9780826355706. en.
  2. News: Maria Martinez. 13 October 1969. The Santa Fe New Mexican. 16 August 2019. Newspapers.com.
  3. Web site: Maria Ramita Simbola Martinez "Summer Harvest" . live . https://archive.today/20230217213248/https://www.nmhistoricwomen.org/new-mexico-historic-women/maria-ramita-simbola-martinez-summer-harvest/ . 17 February 2023 . 16 August 2019 . New Mexico Historic Women Marker Initiative . en-US.
  4. News: Geronimo Martinez Wilson. Greenwood. Phaedra. 23 October 2002. The Taos News. 16 August 2019. Newspapers.com. and News: She Dreams of Her Home. 23 October 2002. The Taos News. 16 August 2019. B14. Newspapers.com.
  5. News: Hills Protect Picuris Pueblo From Change. 25 May 1958. The Santa Fe New Mexican. 16 August 2019. Newspapers.com.
  6. Book: Legacy : Southwest Indian art at the School of American Research. School of American Research Press. 1999. 0933452578. Baldinger. Jo Ann. Santa Fe, New Mexico. 66. Internet Archive.
  7. Web site: Micaceous Bean Pot, 1956 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220929202907/http://media.newmexicoculture.org/photo-library/event/file/detail/187/39/1 . 29 September 2022 . 16 August 2019 . New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs.
  8. Web site: Leonard D. Hollister Collection . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20190816210355/http://scua.library.umass.edu/ead/mums688 . 16 August 2019 . 16 August 2019 . University Libraries - Special Collections & University Archives . University of Massachusetts Amherst.

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