Shawna Garcia Rustin
Shawna Garcia-Rustin is a full blooded Native American Indian. She was born in December of 1969 into the Acoma Pueblo, and is a member of the Red Corn Clan family. She learned the ancient art of working with clay from her parents in 1991. They taught her all the fundamentals of continuing the long lived ancient tradition of pottery making, using the hand coiling methods her ancestors used before her. She currently collaborates with Patrick Rustin, who was born into the Apache Tribe from California in 1970, and together this team makes the finest contemporary pottery created today.
Shawna and Patrick specialize together as a team to create the thinnest of all hand coiled abstract pottery vessels. They gather their raw clumps of clay and all natural vegetation needed for constructing their art from within the Acoma Pueblo. They break the clumps of clay into a fine powder form and mix it with water and other natural pigments. Once the clay is mixed, they begin rolling it out into snake like coils and they begin building the vessels. Once the vessels are created they are set out to dry, and when they are dried they are hand sanded and, finally hand painted with all natural slips applied with an authentic yucca stem that was fashioned into a brush. They are related to Elliott & Beatrice Garcia (parents). They sign the pottery as S. Garcia, Acoma N.M. or Garcia-Rustin.
Shawna and Patrick specialize together as a team to create the thinnest of all hand coiled abstract pottery vessels. They gather their raw clumps of clay and all natural vegetation needed for constructing their art from within the Acoma Pueblo. They break the clumps of clay into a fine powder form and mix it with water and other natural pigments. Once the clay is mixed, they begin rolling it out into snake like coils and they begin building the vessels. Once the vessels are created they are set out to dry, and when they are dried they are hand sanded and, finally hand painted with all natural slips applied with an authentic yucca stem that was fashioned into a brush. They are related to Elliott & Beatrice Garcia (parents). They sign the pottery as S. Garcia, Acoma N.M. or Garcia-Rustin.