Irvin J. Louis was born in 1955 on the Acoma Pueblo Reservation. His Indian name is Tsi'gaiya "Vines of the Melon" of the Yellow Corn Clan. Irvin was inspired to learn the art of working with clay from his Grandmother and Aunt. Acoma ("ack-o-ma") traditions are extremely important to him. He began working with clay at the age of 14. He was taught the fundamentals and methods of hand coiling tradtional pottery passed down to him by his family members.
Irvin now specializes in working with contemporary style pottery. He learned the technique of producing the horse-hair pottery. When producing the horse-hair pottery, the kiln is set at a certain temperature and then horse hair taken from the mane or tail is tossed randomly on the heated pottery. The resulting carbon being drawn into the surface of the pottery creates the wonderful designs and patterns.
He then cleans up the finished pottery with a dry material and the finished product is a unique marbleized style pot. The process of producing the work of art is very time consuming but well worth the effort. When completely finished he signs his pottery as Irvin J. Louis, Acoma, NM
10" Wedding Vase
Made for Bill League 3/30/08
Yellow Corn Shop
224 Paseo Del Vulcan #236
Albuquerque, NM 87121
(505) 839-4309
Contact Irvin Louis directly at:
Acoma Horsehair Wedding Vase
Design Interpretation
Bride and Groom drink from opposite sides of the vase.
(Front side)
Bear Claws gives the two strength, power and courage.
The triangluar shapes illustrates the journey the couple will take in marriage.
The Torquoise represents beauty for the marriage.
Dark areas of vase represents mountains and clouds.
The horsehair lines represent lightening and rain.
(reverse side)
The figure is called "Kokopelli" representing fertility, healer, and musician.
