News from MIAC/Lab

Shelden Nuñez-Velarde Joins MIAC’s Pottery Series in July

JUNE 13, 2019

Organized by the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture’s education department, the pottery demonstration series continues in July with Shelden Nuñez-Velarde, a member of the Ollero clan of the Jicarilla Apache, on July 3, 2019, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

A descendant of O’Ha Montoya, a micaceous utilitarian potter of the plains and mountains surrounding Cimarron, NM, Nuñez-Velarde follows a legacy of potters. Having garnered interest in his craft at an early age, he trained under established Jicarilla Apache potters Lydia Pesata and Felipe Ortega. He continues this legacy, adding his own unique stylistic choices to his works.

Drawing on techniques from his ancestors, Nuñez -Velarde specializes in traditional Jicarilla Apache hand-coiled pottery. His process includes gathering clay and slip from local sources, but shifts into his own unique styles in practice. He soaks the clay, cleans, sifts, mixes, hand coils, shapes, sands, polishes, and then fires his pottery outdoors, using pine or cedar wood, creating works that merge both function, in Jicarilla tradition, and contemporary style.

Nuñez-Velarde has received national recognition and awards for his work for more than twenty-five years. He demonstrates his craft and teaches workshops throughout the Southwest and is an accomplished bead-worker and basket-maker in addition to his standing as a potter.

July Potter Demonstration Series: Shelden Nuñez-Velarde

Location: The Buchsbaum Gallery at The Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, 710 Camino Lejo, Museum Hill, Santa Fe

Time: 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Date: July 3, 2019

Tickets: Tickets free with museum admission; Seniors Free museum admissions on Wednesdays.