A self-taught traditional potter, Claudia Mitchell (Acoma) learned from watching her grandmother Lucy Lewis; mother, Emma; and aunts Dolores and Carmel. Her essay about a storage jar by Maria Cimarron is one of approximately 70 by mostly Pueblo people—artists, writers, historians, scientists, and political leaders—collected for "Grounded in Clay: The Spirit of Pueblo Pottery," at the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture.⁠ ⁠ "Feeling the interior of the jar, where the potter placed her fingers and hands while shaping this piece, connects me not only to her but also to our shared past—a living past that is my present and future," she writes. "The use of ground sherds from older pots for the clay temper brings that past literally into our present, and when these pots are but pieces of the past, they too will carry on our pottery-making tradition." ⁠ ⁠ 📷@katerussellphoto & @schoolforadvancedresearch⁠ 📝Claudia Mitchell⁠ 🔗in bio to read more⁠ ⁠ #newmexicotrue #newmexicomagazine #pueblopottery #nativepottery #nativeart #museumofindianartsandculture #miac #schoolforadvancedresearch #pottery #clay #acomapueblo #groundedinclay #newmexicoart⁠