Hopi Reservation

Tony Dallas is a full blooded Native American Indian. He was born in 1956 into the Hopi Reservation. He married into the Cochiti Pueblo in the early 1980’s. He was inspired to learn the art of working with clay sculptures by observing his mother-in-law, Lucy R. Suina. He sparked an interest in working with clay at the age of 16.

Tony seriously began making pottery in 1982. He learned all the ancient traditional methods of constructing pottery and clay sculptures. Finally, he decided that he really enjoyed making storytellers and continues to create a very unique contemporary style of art. He stated, “I started to hand coil a regular storyteller. Then, I thought for a moment. Mudheads and Koshare clowns also tell stories and they are so humorous to me. So I began experimenting with different styles of storytellers using my creative imagination to construct them”. Tony’s style is a finely painted contemporary flare on a traditional sculpture.

He signs his art as: T.D. followed by a badger claw to denote his Clan origin.

Tony is related to the late Charles Loma.

Publications:
-The Pueblo Storyteller
-Miniature Arts of the Southwest
-Miniature Figures in Clay
-Storytellers and Other Figurative Pottery
-Hopi-Tewa Pottery 500 Artist Biographies
-Talking with the Clay

Awards:
-1999 New Mexico State Fair 3rd Place
-Santa Fe Indian Market various years
-Rio Grande Indian Market various years
-New Mexico State Fair various years