Jemez Black on White Pottery, a revival of ancient ways

Joshua Madalena has successfully revived an ancient type of pottery that had been lost for centuries; Jemez Black-on-White. He has done years and years of research to find the right recipe and has now become world renown for his Black-on-white pottery. He shows his work at art shows across the Southwest. Visit his website for more information about his work and view images of his past work.

******************Joshua's Website- OLD JEMEZ WAY*******************

Pueblo resident Joshua Madalena welcomes these voices as his guides on a singular quest: to revive the ancient art of black-on-white pottery that his people were forced to abandon more than 300 years ago. “Jemez is a very traditional pueblo,” says Madalena. “Ninetyfive percent of us speak Towa, the old language, and our connection to our culture is strong. The majority of the pottery made here is a fairly recent version, from the early 1900s. The black-on-white pottery of our ancestors was created between the 14th and late 17th centuries, but hasn't been made since...

Madalena’s mission to revive the lost art finally was realized in the summer of 2005, after he’d spent six years patiently researching through trial and error. According to Eric Blinman, an archaeologist with the Museum of New Mexico, Madalena’s is an achievement of major significance, similar to what Maria Martinez accomplished in the revival of Tewa polished black pottery. “Joshua Madalena has succeeded in replicating the Jemez black-on-white techniques,” affirms Blinman” SOURCE

Other Articles about Joshua's Revival:
http://www.abqjournal.com/riorancho/300403west_news04-13-08.htm
http://www.nafestival.org/picts/Joshua.pdf
http://www.mesaverdecountry.com/tourism/festivals/iacf/featuredartist/featuredartist.html
http://blog.kachinahouse.com/introducing-jemez-potter-joshua-madalena/
http://www.mediabistro.com/portfolios/samples_files/hYdrSoWT4yN0VMGVauWNMjoas.pdf