Maria Ramita Martinez

Maria Ramita Simbolo Martinez "Summer Harvest" (1884 - October 1969) was a Picuris Pueblo potter. Martinez learned traditional methods of creating pottery and has been recognized for preserving a cultural tradition of the Picuris Pueblo. Martinez collaborated with her husband, Juan José Martinez, who decorated her finished pots.

Maria Ramita Martinez
Born1884
Picuris Pueblo
DiedOctober 1969(1969-10-00) (aged 84–85)
Resting placePicuris
NationalityAmerican
Known forPotter
StyleTraditional
Spouse(s)Juan José Martinez

Biography

Martinez was born in Picuris Pueblo in 1884 to the Simbola family.[1] She learned to make pots by watching her mother, Solidad Simbola, make her own.[1] In the pueblo, she was known as "Summer Harvest."[2] She married Juan José Martinez, and the couple had six children together.[2] She and her husband collaborated on the pottery she made and sold their items together from the back of a wagon.[1]

Martinez died in October 1969 and was buried in Picuris.[3] A historic marker in New Mexico describes her contribution to the preservation of traditional pottery methods.[1]

Work

Martinez gathered clay from the hills outside Picuris.[4] Martinez used traditional methods to work on her pots which were generally red-brown in color and had a sparkles from the mica in the clay.[5] She would shape the pots and then her husband, Juan José Martinez, would decorate them before firing.[6]

Martinez's work is part of the collections of the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture[7] and the Leonard D. Hollister Collection at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.[8]

References
  1. "Maria Ramita Simobal Martinez, Cora Durand, and Virginia Duran". New Mexico Historic Women Marker Initiative. Retrieved 2019-08-16.
  2. Pike, David (2015). Roadside New Mexico: A Guide to Historic Markers, Revised and Expanded Edition. UNM Press. ISBN 9780826355706.
  3. "Maria Martinez". The Santa Fe New Mexican. 13 October 1969. Retrieved 16 August 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. Greenwood, Phaedra (23 October 2002). "Geronimo Martinez Wilson". The Taos News. Retrieved 16 August 2019 – via Newspapers.com. and "She Dreams of Her Home". The Taos News. 23 October 2002. p. B14. Retrieved 16 August 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Hills Protect Picuris Pueblo From Change". The Santa Fe New Mexican. 25 May 1958. Retrieved 16 August 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. Baldinger, Jo Ann, ed. (1999). Legacy : Southwest Indian art at the School of American Research. Santa Fe, New Mexico: School of American Research Press. pp. 66. ISBN 0933452578 – via Internet Archive.
  7. "Micaceous Bean Pot, 1956". New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 2019-08-16.
  8. "Leonard D. Hollister Collection". UMassAmherst. Retrieved 2019-08-16.
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