Acoma Pueblo

Marilyn Ray is a full blooded Native American Indian. She is a member of the Yellow Corn Clan and born in 1954 into the Acoma Pueblo. She began experimenting with clay at the age of 12.

Marilyn was inspired to learn the art of working with clay from observing her grandmother, the late Dolores S. Sanchez, work with her clay. She had mastered all the fundamentals by the age of 18 and has established herself as one of the finest Storyteller makers of our time. Her storytellers have been commented as being the largest, most complex and innovative styles.

Marilyn specializes in handmade sculptures like storytellers, small children, nativity’s, animals, and friendship bowls. She gathers her clay and other natural pigments from within the Acoma Pueblo. The clay and sand is prepared by drying, grinding, and sifting before it is mixed with water to produce the medium (weight of clay). The clay sculptures are then hand molded, air dried, and painted. Finally, they are fired outdoors, the traditional way, or fired in a kiln.

The colors used on her sculptures are also provided from plants and minerals. Marilyn combines her skills in both traditional pottery making and figurative work.

She signs her sculptures as: Marilyn Ray, Acoma, N.M. followed by a hand drawn lizard.

She is related to: Rebecca Lucario, Judy Lewis, Diane Lewis, Carolyn Concho (sisters), Katherine Lewis (mother), and Sharon Bernard-Lewis (sister-in-law).

Awards:
-1980 New Mexico State Fair 1st Place
-1982 Santa Fe Indian Market 1st Place
-Eighth Northern Arts & Crafts Show 1st Place (several awards received)

Publications:
-Southern Pueblo Pottery 2,000 Artist Biographies
-Storytellers and Other Figurative Pottery
-Southwestern Pottery Anasazi to Zuni
-The Pueblo Storyteller
-Southwestern Indian Pottery 1999 Edition