Great under pressure: Acoma potter LaDonna Victoriano brings Indigenous tradition to New Mexico Artisan Market

Nov. 23—Deadlines.

LaDonna Victoriano gets a rush with each passing one.

"It's thrilling," she says. "No matter how much time I give myself to work on my pottery, something always happens, and my attention needs to be split. I actually have just over a week to get ready for the next show."

The Acoma Pueblo potter is one of the more than 100 artists participating in the New Mexico Artisan Market.

The event takes place at Hotel Albuquerque of Old Town and kicks off on Friday, Nov. 24, and runs through Sunday, Nov. 26.

The market allows visitors to explore the rich arts and culture of New Mexico.

Victoriano is a veteran of the market, as she's participated for many years.

She's been hard at work in her studio making her popular clay ornaments.

"I just got back from the Tucson art show and I started working on stuff here," she says. "I have about a week to create things before I get all of it fired. Then I have to cook for Thanksgiving. I'm always under pressure all the time."

Although Victoriano was born in Idaho, she is a member of Acoma Pueblo.

Her mother was also a potter, and she remembers helping her sell the pottery in Acoma on the side of the road.

"I was learning my public relations skills then," she says with a laugh. "It's important to know how to sell yourself through art."

Around the same time, she was given a piece of clay — beginning her journey with creating pottery.

She watched her mother paint the pottery using the delicate yucca brush.

Today, she uses the same yucca brush to paint her pottery.

"A commercial brush isn't good to get detail," she says. "I don't remember who gave me the piece of clay to start learning. I do remember that I would roll it out and create something and then smash it down and start again."

Victoriano aims to work on art daily.

"When I'm working with my clay, I get pretty excited about it," she says. "My hands will create something that someone may like. The clay has his own character, and he tells me the direction to go. Sometimes I'm trying to create a seed pot, and it's not taking the right form. That's when he's talking to me. The process of it all is very therapeutic for me."

When the form isn't taking shape, Victoriano can always smash it, add some water, and begin again.

"I'm a perfectionist when it comes to my art," she says. "I'm a Libra and I want things to be perfect. It has to be right. There can't be any air pockets in it."

Victoriano will bring a variety of pottery to the market. She will have ollas, ornaments, seed pots and pottery inside a shadowbox.

"I also have these little necklaces that I'm making," she says. "I had a pot that had a big crack in it, so I hit it on the table and broke it. The sherds were there, and I added a hole in it and put it on a necklace. People really seem to enjoy the idea."