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Dorothy Torivio - Acoma Pueblo
During her visit in April 2002, Dorothy Torivio sat undistracted in the
gallery while we watched her paint. With questions and movement all around
her she deliberately went about stroking her yucca brush in slip, stroking
again, then applying slip to her pot. Accurate, repetitive, simple smears
set on a curve combined slowly before our very eyes to become the four direction
design. For all who were present it will be a moment we will never forget.
Our heartfelt thanks to Dorothy, her daughter Audrey, and Sandra for sharing
their stories, their company, and their laughter with all of us at Tribal
Expressions.
A generational influence, Dorothy Torivio is a resident of Acoma, New Mexico.
Dorothy is known for harmonious integration of shape and design in her pottery.
She was born in the Pueblo in 1946 and has been a professional resident
artist there since 1975. Trained by her mother in law, Lolita Concho, Dorothy
learned where to find clay, how to mix and process slips, and how to build
pots with thin solid walls. She inherited Lolita's polishing stone, base
bowls, and slips of pink and red. To create her thin walled and steeply
sloped pots she has learned to use the natural hardening of clay to prevent
cave in's. Her shapes are generally even and well balanced. They are instinctively
developed to accentuate the drama of her painted designs.
Dorothy applies slip freehand using a brush made of yucca. She uses tender
shoots found near the base of the yucca plant. Shoots are cut, chewed to
eliminate loose fibers, and soaked in water. Dorothy says that yucca is
more flexible and holds more slip than regular paint brushes and the slip
doesn't dry as fast when applied with yucca brushes. Because they are provided
at no cost by mother nature, she is able to make and use a large variety
of brushes for fine lines, bold patterns, and fill.
Dorothy polishes her pots with white Acoma slip, then with a pencil marks
points as around the shoulder, just like the hour marks on a watch or degree
marks on a compass. Dorothy begins her design application around the neck
of the pot and works in concentric circles expanding the design over the
shoulders and contracting it toward the base. Her designs seem to stretch
like elastic over the pot. The designs fire black on white with an occasional
use of red dots to signify snow or black dots as rain. A few spectacular
examples of her work remain in the gallery for the lucky collector. |