Drew Lewis

Artist Profile

Andrew Lewis was a born in 1927 into the Acoma Pueblo. He was inspired to learn the art of working with clay from his mother, the famed late Lucy Lewis. She taught Drew the fundamentals of working with clay using the ancient traditional methods that were passed down to her from generation to generation. When Drew was a young child only women were responsible for constructing pottery vessels, however, one day he decided he wanted to learn the methods and construct pottery of his own.

Drew specializes in hand coiled and hand painted traditional pottery vessels. The colors he uses to make his pottery are boiled from natural plants and slips provided from Mother Earth. He begins painting with the stem of a yucca plant that has been fashioned into a brush. His designs are all traditional mimbres designs and parrot motifs which his ancestos painted many years ago. He signs his pottery: Drew Lewis, Acoma, N.M. He is related to Andrew Lewis, Jr., Theodore Lewis (sons), Ivan Lewis (brother), Carmel Lewis, Ann Lewis, Emma Lewis-Mitchell, Delores Lewis-Garcia and Mary Lewis-Garcia (sisters).