1994-07 Jar with Migration Design

Hopi Pot, Steve Lucas. 1993. Traditional “migration” design on a traditional Hopi shape pot. Steve is the brother of Karen Lucas and the grandson of Rachel Namingha Nampeyo (see 1989-06 and 1994-12). Steve’s Mother, Eleanor, did not make much pottery; he was trained by his aunt Dextra Quotskuyva. Steve’s exceptional pots appeared suddenly and with full quality a couple of years ago. In my last meeting with Rick Dillingham in May 1993, he called Steve Lucas “perhaps the best” potter at Hopi. SWAIA seems to have agreed, giving Steve first and second place awards at Indian Market, 1993. According to Bruce McGee, Steve is a perfectionist: unwilling to sell a pot if there is even a hint of smudged paint. Like Dextra, Steve’s typical pot is quite modern in design, sometimes with scrafitto or parts of the pots cut away to form unusual shapes. Jar 1994-07 is the most traditional Steve Lucas pot I have seen and –in spite of its perfection– the glow of the blushing, the rich color of the red and the power of the traditional migration design seem to work together–powerfully. For a picture of Steve and one of his pots, see Dillingham (1994:54-55). Steve is about 30 years old.