Mary and Leonard Trujillo

Cochiti Pueblo

Mary Tapia was born into San Juan Pueblo in 1937, Leonard Trujillo into Cochiti Pueblo in 1936. When they married, contrary to pueblo tradition she moved to his home at Cochiti.

Mary had learned to make traditional San Juan red ware from her mother, Leonidas Tapia, but at Cochiti she learned to make storyteller figures from her mother-in-law, Helen Cordero.

In the 1980s Mary and Leonard began producing pottery together and for years they were among the premier figurine potters at Cochiti.

Mary and Leonard's work is shown in places like the School for Advanced Research in Santa Fe, NM, and the Heard Museum in Phoenix, AZ. Leonard passed on in 2017.