Lorraine Williams

Artist Profile

Also known as Lorraine Yazzie, Williams is from Sweetwater, Arizona. She was raised in the traditional Navajo faith and believes everything has a spirit and life of its own.

“I never knew Navajos made pottery. I honestly never did. When I was growing up, I saw pottery here and there but I just assumed it had been bought from different areas. Pottery was part of the reservation where I grew up but a lot of the pottery the Navajos made was for cooking, so I didn’t recognize it. It was the old traditional kind of pottery with just enough bead around it for decoration. I never knew Navajos made pottery until I met my husband and he took me to his home and I saw his mom make pottery,” admits Williams. Before Lorraine learned to make pottery she was an accomplished silversmith and rug weaver, as well as doing beadwork. Her clay pottery reflects this depth of artistic skill and technique as well as her prolific imagination. “I want the Navajo pottery to be up there with all the other pottery so I try hard to express myself with it. I use a lot of designs,” Williams said. Depending on the size of the piece, Lorraine either signs her pottery with the initials LW on the bottom or inscribes her full name.