Mary Witkop was more than a remarkable woman of
Taos to me, she was a dear friend that I selfishly miss. Day after day she was
in her studio working, mixing the local micaceous clay, building pots,
burnishing, polishing, coloring and polishing some more. Carefully loading up
her rickety truck to take the latest finished pots to her Pilar studio where
she would fire them and add horsehair or feathers to put a unique finishing
touch on her creations. She did it all herself, she resisted help, even if we
just offered to carry clay or a bag of dried cow pies, she had to do it
herself. That’s what being a total artist was to her, she did it all from start
to finish.
a mango pink coloration with black 'clouds' and a bit of corrugated design at the neck
Green pot with corrugated crimping and horsehair
pinks, blues, lavenders enhance this pot with a small spout
Every now and then she’d come over for a visit, or
after selling one of her pots I’d go to see her in the studio to pay her. Then
I could choose the next pot that she would allow me to have for sale. She’d say
‘go ahead, and pick one out’ in return I’d ask her which was her favorite,
she’d pick up a beautiful jewel-like pot, hand it to me and tell me why this
was the one I should have.
these 2 pots are rather dark with a bit of color, much like an evening sky here in Taos, with the glittery micaceous clay creating a solar system of stars
Milky Way
an extremely rare 'black' pot
these are both
The high polish,
the array of coloring and the cloud marks were her trademarks. When visiting a
friend in Taos you can spot a Mary Witkop pot in someone’s home rather quickly,
they are as unique as the most famous Pueblo potters.
Before her passing
we had been talking about having a big exhibit of her work, she dreaded the
idea and loved the idea. It would be an honor, and it would be a lot of work.
Mary would begin working on 2 large pots for her annual contribution to the
Taos Fall Arts exhibit up to 6 months before the opening! For many years she
was awarded the Best of Show for her pottery in the Fall Arts exhibit until she
asked the committee to start giving the award to someone else.
Solstice pot with Lawrence Herrera silverwork medallion
this pot was displayed in Mary's studio for many years where I always admired it, drawing me into it's magnificent beauty. Mr. Herrera attended the opening, I picked up the pot to show him that his name had been inscribed onto the bottom alongside Ms. Witkop's name.
a bit of carving and blue linear lines on this pot enhanced with ostrich feathers
lavender pitcher w/handle and spout
This pot won Best of show in the 2004 Taos Fall Arts exhibit
a lavender colored 'flying saucer' pot
A large blue 'flying saucer' custom ordered pot
In memoriam to
this wonderful artist and with support from her family, we are pleased to
announce the exhibition “The Pottery of Mary Witkop” opening Friday, May 25 and
on display through August 24, Two Graces Plaza Gallery, 68 St. Francis Church
Plaza, Ranchos de Taos. There will be an opening reception on Friday evening
from 5-8PM, we hope that people will come out and share their own stories and
experiences about Mary. This is our tribute to Mary Witkop, we hope you will
join us. For more information about this exhibit please contact Robert Cafazzo
at 575-758-4101 or at r2c2graces@gmail.com
as we had predicted many of the smaller pots have sold quickly, please contact us ASAP for availability, (there may be more pots added to the exhibit, you never know...)
IF you own a pot that you would consider selling with us, please let us know, the sooner the better!
this large smokey red oxide pot is one of the 5 large pots
Small pot with blue spots
all 5 of the pots at the front of this display
one of the large colorful carved pots
We are grateful to the Witkop and Hopper families for allowing Two Graces Plaza Gallery to exhibit and sell this beautiful body of work.
So many people attended the opening reception last night, TGPG would like to thank all of you for making this an event we will never forget. Old friends mingled with people who had never met Mary, all awe inspired. A moment in Taos where the 3 cultures came together to once again celebrate an artist who stood among them and who we all admired.
This fall the Pilar Studio Tour will be dedicated to the memory of Mary Witkop, (the organizers came by to take photographs of the exhibit)
This unglazed Bean pot was made in a group of pottery done for a Christmas exhibit sale it is priced at 200. it is the only 'functional' pot we have available, meaning it can actually be used to cook in on the stove top or in the oven (gas or electric)
iron oxide pot
iron oxide with a hint of green
I can hear the horsehair sizzle and burn onto this pot as she tossed it on
pot to the left with green and blue coloring Indonesia green pot
the green pot here and above were inspired by a trip to
Indonesia where much of the pottery is colored green the pot to the left white with blue, & green seed pot
Lavender pot
a few additions
Green w/horsehair medium size medium size Blue w/feathers small Blue w/feathers
"Adoration of the Cross Ladies" medium size white w/feathery clouds
(please note this pot is unsigned and has no identification of the collaborator who carved it, therefor a very special price point)
* please note: Mary always warned not to use her pottery as a planter, she would often place a feather or leaf in a pot, nothing more than that.
Green w/horsehair medium size medium size Blue w/feathers small Blue w/feathers
(please note this pot is unsigned and has no identification of the collaborator who carved it, therefor a very special price point)
* please note: Mary always warned not to use her pottery as a planter, she would often place a feather or leaf in a pot, nothing more than that.
This exhibit runs through August 24, 2012
