THE FIRST STORYTELLER

From ancient times, clay figures have been present in the pueblo pottery tradition.  Figurines, especially human female figures, were an integral element in the Anasazi culture by 400 AD.  Although the figurative work was discouraged first by missionaries and then scholars, who derided the making of figurative clay pieces, the practice has flourished in New Mexico since the coming of the railroad in the late 1800s.

At Cochiti Pueblo just south of Santa Fe, artist and mother of six, Helen Cordero, began making little clay people in the late 1950s when she was 45 years old.

With the support and encouragement of folk art collector Alexander Girard, she expanded her figures into the storyteller form so well known today.

Her grandfather, Santiago Quintana, a wise pueblo leader and a good storyteller, was the model for her first piece.  This grandfather figure with five children was the first storyteller and is a self-portrait as well since Cordero is one of the children climbing depicted on her grandfather's  lap.

Today, as many as three hundred potters in thirteen pueblos have created storytellers.  Many of are not only women and men but also mudheads, koshares, bears, and other animlas, and often with children numbering more than one hundred.  They are available in many shops and museums and are among the most prized of pueblo pottery items.

Source: The Collectors Guide: The First Storyteller, online at: http://www.collectorsguide.com/fa/fa014.shtml