Thomas Tenorio

Artist Profile

Thomas Tenorio was given the Indian name of “U-Nah-Thee-Wah” when he was born into the Santo Domingo Pueblo in 1963. Thomas has been making pottery for more than ten years. He felt that the ancient traditional methods of pottery making was dying within his pueblo so he was inspired to try and resurrect the long lived legacy. Thomas taught himself to make traditional pottery by reading textbooks, conducting one on one interviews with other pottery makers, reasearch and trial and error. He now teaches classes on pottery making so anyone wanting to learn the art of working with clay can do so and carry on the tradition. Thomas has invented his own unique contemporary style. He adds contemporary flare of cut-outs and new colors to the traditional Santo Domingo style. He makes a wide variety of shapes and sizes and paints birds and traditional designs with natural pigments found within his pueblo. He signs his pottery: Thomas Tenorio, Santo Domingo Pueblo.