Gladys Paquin

Gladys “Sratyu’we” Paquin is a full blooded Native American Indian she was born in Rehoboth, New Mexico. Her father was from the Zuni Pueblo and her mother was from the Laguna Pueblo. Gladys developed an interest in the art of working with clay in June of 1980. She learned to construct this fine style of art by asking questions to other members of her family and friends. She gathered all this information and through trial, error, and much patience Gladys learned the complicated techniques involved in hand coiling traditional pottery.

Gladys specializes in hand coiled traditional vessels. She harvests her raw materials such as clumps of various types of clays and vegetation such as Rocky Mountain bee plant which provides the natural black color within the Laguna Pueblo. She breaks each clump of clay into a powder form and mixes water along with other natural pigments and begins rolling the moist clay into snake like coils and begins building a natural vessel. Once the vessel has been shaped she sets it out to dry, once it has dried she sands down all the roughness for a fine smooth texture. She boils all her colors from natural clays and vegetation and hand paints her designs. The designs are usually replications of old pottery shards found within her Pueblo. She is related to Andrew Padilla (son). She signs her pottery as: Gladys Sratyu’we Paquin, Laguna.