Opening: Tammy Garcia: Beauty By Design

For the first time in her long career, acclaimed Santa Clara potter Tammy Garcia will give insights into her creative and design process in Beauty By Design, a new exhibition set to open June 21 at King Galleries in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Beauty By Design will include three new pieces of Garcia’s sought-after pottery along with a display of preliminary drawings and sketches to show how she imagines and then creates her award-winning pottery.

“For the past ten years we have exclusively represented the new clay and bronze work of Tammy Garcia,” says Gallery Owner Charles King. “This is the first time that she will discussing the process of creating her award-winning designs. The creative process is dynamic and individual to each artist and we are excited to hear from Tammy about artistic experience.”

Garcia is one of the most renowned Pueblo potters working today. She is the daughter of Linda Cain and the great-great granddaughter of Sara Fina Tafoya. Tammy’s sister Autumn Borts Medlock is also a well-known potter. Garcia makes less than ten pieces in clay a year. So, this exhibition will feature almost half of her annual output. Garcia never replicates a design or pot, so her creative process is a vital element of her work.

Garcia uses her forms and imagery to create stories on each vessel. Her unique designs are inspired by pueblo life and stories from her ancestors, animals, insects, and traditional images as well. Each piece of pottery is polished and carved and there’s always a delicate balance between carved and matte areas.