Thomas Polacca

Hopi

Thomas Polacca (1935-2003) was the grandson of Nampeyo of Hano. By the time of his birth she was totally blind and making her pottery compeletely by feel. He was fascinated at an early age, watching her work. Tom's mother was Fannie Polacca Nampeyo. Fannie was decorating most of Nampeyo's pieces in those years and he grew up seeing that, too. There were also several well-known potters among his siblings including Leah Nampeyo, Elva Tewaguna, Tonita Nampeyo and Iris Youvella Nampeyo.

As one of the first Hopi men to make pottery (a second Hopi man making pottery was Wallace Youvella, who married Tom's sister Iris), Tom continued Nampeyo's tradition of bringing innovation into Hopi pottery.

Thomas hadn't really been interested in making pottery while he was growing up. When he finally became interested, his mother taught him the basics of making pieces while his sisters taught him the finer aspects of finishing and decorating them. Then, when he began producing pottery comparable to theirs, he was told to make something different, make his own niche in the pottery world. That's when he began carving his pieces and decorating them with figures and patterns different from the general Nampeyo line.

Tom was a pioneer in the deep carving technique that is often seen these days, using it himself to develop pottery depicting kachinas, Hopi dancers and animals-depicted-by-kachinas in mural-like scenes of Hopi religious rituals and ceremonies. His pottery is also recognizable by his placement of symbols and regular use of the themes of storms, clouds and eagle feathers.

Tom signed most of his pieces with a stylized "Tom Polacca" incorporating a corn stalk.