Sammy Naranjo

Santa Clara Pueblo

Sammy Naranjo
Sammy Naranjo

Sammy Naranjo, (Okuwa Nae' Khung Tsire meaning: Dark Cloud Bird), was born into the Bear Clan of Santa Clara Pueblo in 1972. When he turned twelve, Flora Naranjo (Sammy's mother) started working on inspiring him to create traditional carved pottery. Today, Sammy specializes in two-tone black and sienna pots decorated with finely executed sgraffito (etched) traditional designs such as the avanyu (the mythic Tewa water serpent), feather patterns, and bear claws.

He gets his clay on Santa Clara Pueblo land, and after preparing the clay, hand coiling, shaping, and polishing his work with river stones, he fires his pottery the traditional way: with horse manure. He says, "I enjoy making pottery because I like to come up with my own traditional designs. I also find that etching my pots is a challenging and rewarding experience. My pottery is unique in the way that no other pot is the same. It is like the pottery is alive: It wants to be a certain way and no matter what I do it won't change the outcome of what the pot wants to look like."

Sammy has earned awards at the New Mexico State Fair, Eight Northern Pueblos Indian Arts & Crafts Show, and at the Arizona State Museum in Tucson.

There is an interview with Sammy and Melony where they demonstrate how they make their pottery and talk about what the shapes and designs mean to them. The video was live-streamed in August, 2020.

He signs his work "Sammy Naranjo, Santa Clara Pueblo."

Sgraffito designs and sienna spots on a black pot
Black pot with sgraffito designs and sienna spots
3.75 in H by 5 in Dia
Sgraffito avanyu and geometric design and sienna spots and rim on a black pot
Black jar with sgraffito avanyu and geometric design and sienna spots and rim
3.5 in H by 5 in Dia
Sgraffito designs and sienna spots on a black pot
Black pot with sgraffito avanyu and feather designs plus sienna spots
5.5 in H by 5.5 in Dia
Sgraffito designs and sienna spots on a black pot
Black pot with sgraffito designs and sienna spots
5.25 in H by 7.75 in Dia
Sgraffito designs and sienna spots on a black pot
Black pot with sgraffito designs and sienna spots
4.5 in H by 6 in Dia
Sgraffito feather, bear paw and geometric designs on a black jar with sienna rim and spots
Black jar with sgraffito feather, bear paw and geometric designs plus a sienna rim and spots
3.75 in H by 5.25 in Dia
Sgraffito avanyu, bear paws and geometric designs with sienna spots and sienna rim on a black pot
Black jar with sgraffito bear paws, avanyu and geometric designs plus sienna spots and sienna rim
4.5 in H by 5.25 in Dia
Sgraffito avanyu and traditional designs plus sienna rim and spots on a black jar
Black jar with sgraffito avanyu and traditional designs plus sienna rim and spots
3.25 in H by 4.5 in Dia
Sgraffito avanyu and bear claw design on a black jar with sienna rim and sienna spots
Black jar with sienna rim and sienna spots plus sgraffito avanyu and bear claw design
4.25 in H by 5.25 in Dia
Sgraffito avanyu, feathers, bear paws and geometric design on a black jar with sienna rim and spots
Black jar with sienna rim and spots plus sgraffito avanyu, feathers, bear paws and geometric design
11 in H by 9.75 in Dia
Sgraffito avanyu and geometric design on a black jar with sienna rim
Black jar with sienna rim and sgraffito avanyu and geometric design
3.25 in H by 4.5 in Dia
Sgraffito avanyu, bear paw and geometric design on a black pot with sienna riom and spots
Black pot with sienna rim and spots plus sgraffito avanyu, bear paw and geometric design
3.75 in H by 5.75 in Dia
Sgraffito feather, bear paw and geometric design on a black pot with a sienna rim
Black jar with sienna rim plus sgraffito feather, bear paw and geometric design
3 in H by 4.5 in Dia
Sgraffito avanyu, bear paw and geometric design on a black jar with a sienna rim
Black jar with a sienna rim plus sgraffito avanyu, bear paw and geometric design
3.5 in H by 4.5 in Dia
Sgraffito avanyu, bear paws, feathers and geometric design on a black jar with sienna rim and sienna spots
Black jar with sienna rim and sienna spots plus sgraffito avanyu, feather , bear paws and geometric design
7.25 in H by 5.75 in Dia
Sgraffito avanyu, bear claw and geometric design on a black jar with sienna rim and sienna spots
Black jar with sienna rim and spots plus sgraffito avanyu, bear claw and geometric design
4.5 in H by 5 in Dia

Santa Clara Pueblo Potters