Birdell Bourdon, Santa Clara Pueblo seed jar

Birdell Bourdon, “Vine Flower” was born into the Santa Clara-Tewa Pueblo in 1957. Birdell was inspired to continue the family tradition of implementing ancient methods of hand coiling pottery from her mother, Marie Sisneros. Birdell’s mother taught at the World College in Las Vegas, New Mexico and she also taught Birdell all the basics of traditional pottery making from her ancestors. Birdell has been making pottery since she was 10 years old. Birdell specializes in the hand coiled Santa Clara black polished pottery. She collects clay from the tribal clay pits in the Santa Clara Pueblo then cleans, mixes, hand coils, shapes and fires her pottery outdoors with saw dust. She coils in a variety of shapes and sizes ranging from wedding vases to bowls. Birdell also decorates her pieces with melon patterns. Currently, Birdell is teaching her kids the traditional ways of making pottery so that one day, they can have a successful artistic future if they want it. Birdell is mentioned in several publications: Working with Clay, Collections of Southwestern Pottery and Pueblo Indian Pottery 750 Artist Biographies.
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