Shaped by Her Hands
Potter Maria Martinez
by Anna Harber Freeman and Barbara Gonzales
illustrated by Aphelandra
Albert Whitman and Company, 2021. 32 pages.
Review written April 14, 2021, from a library book
Starred Review
Shaped by Her Hands is a picture book biography of Maria Povika Martinez, a woman who carried on the tradition of Native American pottery and became famous for perfecting new techniques.
It begins her story as a girl in a pueblo among the Tewa people of San Ildefonso. She learned to make pottery from her aunt.
Aunt Nicolasa was happy to show Maria the centuries-old tradition of san-away. Together, they gathered clay and thanked Mother Earth for sharing with them.
Nicolasa showed Maria how to mix the clay with water and volcanic ash, and how to roll coils between her hands to build the pot’s walls.
As the two of them worked, Nicolasa told Maria about the importance of sharing clay knowledge. She wanted Maria to know how to make pots to store seeds and grains in, so their Tewa traditions would live on.
The book shows Maria growing up and marrying and coming back to the clay. She developed a new technique from an ancient sherd of black pottery an archaeologist showed her. She and her husband, who added decorations, created beautiful black-on-black pottery that was extremely popular.
And throughout her life, she always found it important to share what she knew.
When Julian died in 1943, Maria’s heart and pots felt empty without her husband and partner. But she had spent her whole life sharing clay with her family.
First, her children came to paint the designs.
Later, her grandchildren came to help with the painting and polishing.
They made pots as a family, remembering to thank Mother Earth, and teaching new hands to form, polish, and design.
A lovely and simple book about someone who made beautiful art and passed on the knowledge.
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