Santa Clara Pueblo

Tina Garcia is a full blooded Native American Indian born in 1957 into the Santa Clara Pueblo.

Pueblo children are seldom taught to make pottery. They learn by watching and experimenting with clay on their own. She was inspired to learn the art of pottery making from Lydia Garcia (mother), Angela Baca (aunt), and Severa Tafoya (grandmother).

As a young child, Tina observed them with a careful eye in hopes that someday she to would be able to add to the legacy of an artisan. Tina displayed a strong interest in continuing the family tradition of pottery making, at the age of 11. Her mother began to share traditional pottery making knowledge with her.

Tina began hand coiling pottery for a living in 1980. She enrolled in the School of American Research to study older traditional pottery.

Tina specializes in handmade traditional Santa Clara pottery (black or red). All of her materials are provided for her from elements of the earth. She gathers her own clay, cleans, mixes, shapes, coils, and fires her pottery the traditional way, outdoors. Her pottery shows remarkable gift for form, and her polish is of superior quality.

Today, Tina continues to produce only the finest quality of pottery, and her capability of making large pieces are a success. They range from 20” to 25” in height and diameter.

Tina has worked with many prestigious pottery demonstrations and has assisted in producing a video along with Bruce Hucko for the Wheel Wright Museum in Santa Fe, N.M. about traditional pottery in our current era.

Tina has won awards too numerous to list and she is referenced in several publications. Her pottery is definitely an art to behold for generations to come.