Vangie Tafoya

Jemez Pueblo

Vangie Tafoya was born into San Ildefonso Pueblo in 1944. Later on, she married David Tafoya of Jemez Pueblo and moved to his home there. She had three children who became potters: Brenda Tafoya, Helen Tafoya (Henderson) and Tyron Tafoya.

Vangie mostly produced polished redware and black-on-white seed pots, jars, wedding vases, canteens, melon bowls, pitchers and miniatures. She liked to decorate her pieces with sgraffito hummingbirds, eagles, the avanyu (water serpent), clouds, feathers-in-a-row, floating feathers, fine line rain, and cloud terrace/kiva steps.

Vangie earned a number of ribbons at venues like the Santa Fe Indian Market, the New Mexico State Fair, the Gallup InterTribal Ceremonial, the Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, the Mescalero Apache Art Show and the Eight Northern Indian Pueblos Arts and Crafts Show in the 1990s.


Sgraffito butterfly and geometric design on a red jar
A red jar decorated with a sgrafito butterfly and geometric design
3.5 in H by 3.25 in Dia

Jemez Pueblo Potters