St. Olaf College

Lois Gutierrez de la Cruz

ceramicist
United States
b. b. 1948
View objects by this artist.

Lois Gutierrez was born in Santa Clara Pueblo in 1948. She is not the only artist in her family, as her sisters Gloria Garcia (Goldenrod), Minnie Vigil, and Thelma Talachy are also noted potters. All four learned pottery from their mother, Petra Montoya Gutierrez, who was from Pojoaque Pueblo and married into Santa Clara, as children. Lois is one of the few artists at Santa Clara Pueblo who continues to work in the true polychrome pottery tradition, in which each different color in a piece of work is derived from a different clay.

Lois eventually married Derek de la Cruz, and since then the two have created many pots together. Derek often helps Lois to find the various colors of clay Lois uses in her designs, as well as firing of the pots. The two have only exhibited at one show, the Santa Fe Indian Market in 1982, at which they won the Best of Show ribbon and were overwhelmed by demand for their pottery. Although they never exhibited again, Lois has continued to receive prizes and praise for her works. Lois has also written many books on her craft, and continues to create pottery with Derek.

Madison Duran ‘20
March 2019

Sources:

Harris, Scott. “Lois Gutierrez.” Santa Clara Pueblo Potters | In the Eyes of the Pot, The House of
ChaRuut, 5 July 2018, www.eyesofthepot.com/santa-clara/lois_gutierrez.
“Lois Gutierrez.” King Galleries, www.kinggalleries.com/brand/gutierrez-lois/.