Carmel Lewis, Acoma Pueblo fine line miniature jar

In 1947, Carmel Lewis was born into the Acoma Sky City Pueblo. She is one of Lucy M. Lewis’s daughters. Lucy inspired Carmel to learn the ancient traditional methods of working with homemade, natural pottery. Carmel’s process includes gathering the clay from the Acoma Pueblo pits, hand-cleaning the clay to purify the natural ingredients that the earth gave her, and then hand mixes, coils and paints her pieces using the outdoor traditional firing methods. Carmel’s distinctive painted designs are similar to and inspired by the traditional symbols found on ancient sherds of pottery. Carmel, along with the Lewis family continue to use the same patterns and refuse to modernize their style because they want to keep the true traditions and designs of the ancient Mimbres people alive. Some of the traditional designs the Lewis family replicates are the deer pot, the lightning bolt pattern, and several variations of Mimbres designs. Carmel’s family includes her sisters--Emma Lewis-Mitchell and Dolores Lewis-Garcia—and her brother, Drew Lewis. Carmel and her family are mentioned in several publications such as: Southern Pueblo Pottery 2,000 Artist Biographies, Fourteen Families in Pueblo Pottery, Southwestern Pottery Anasazi to Zuni, Talking with Clay, American Indian Pottery 2nd Edition and Seven Families in Pueblo Pottery. Carmel has also received several awards: 1st, 2nd and 3rd place numerous years from the Santa Fe Indian Market, 1st Place from Eight Northern for several years, and she has received awards from the Heard Museum show and the New Mexico State Fair just to name a few.

http://www.material-insight.com/IndianArt/PeoplePhotos/LewisCarmel.htm
https://www.camerontradingpost.com/carmellewis