Ida Redbird
Ida Redbird | |
---|---|
Laveen, Gila River Indian Reservation, Arizona | |
Died | August 10, 1971 | (aged 79)
Nationality | Gila River Indian Community, American |
Occupation | ceramic artist |
Years active | 1930–1970 |
Known for | 1940s Maricopa pottery revival |
Ida Redbird (
Early life
Ida Redbird was born March 15, 1892, in
Career
In the 1920s, Redbird acted as an interpreter for Leslie Spier's work Yuman Tribes of the Gila River.[3] By the 1930s, her work became known and was selling to dealers from Los Angeles, though for mere pennies. Even though the Great Depression had reduced all wages, the price was still a pittance — a situation Redbird sought to change. Organizing other potters, and backed by Elizabeth Hart, a Home Extension Agent for the U.S. Indian Service, Redbird strove to improve their products so potters could increase their prices. Her efforts earned her the respect of fellow potters, who elected her first president of the Maricopa Pottery Maker's Association.[2][5]
Redbird's pottery was typically highly polished redware painted with designs in black slip. She built her pots with the paddle-and-anvil technique rather than a coil method. Her method was developed by ancient Hohokam artisans[6] and used local clay from the Gila Riverbed. Once the vessel had dried for several days, a red clay from the Superstition Mountains was liquefied in and applied. When that slip dried, it was burnished with a stone and then fired outside.[7] When the firing had been completed and while the piece was still hot, geometric shapes were painted on it with a boiled mesquite-bark dye.[8]
In 1940, E. B. "Ted" Sayles took images of Redbird and her pottery making techniques.
In 1949, Redbird served as an interpreter for Lenora S. M. Curtin in her study of the
Death and legacy
After completing work on some pots, Redbird sat them out to dry and laid down to take a nap on August 10, 1971.[1] The tree under which she was sleeping on the reservation fell on her and killed her.[20][21][1]
A special display of Redbird's works was held shortly after her death at the Heard Museum.
Ida Redbird Elementary School is a K-6 public school in the Mesa Public School District of Mesa, Arizona. The school is named after Redbird.[1]
References
Notes
- ^ a b c d e "The History of Ida Redbird". Ida Redbird Elementary. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
- ^ a b c d Gale 2012.
- ^ a b c Spier 1978, p. xii.
- ^ Ditzler 1967, p. 85.
- ^ Hayes, Blom & Hayes 2015, p. 106.
- ^ a b Walker 1985, p. 8C.
- ^ "The Art of Making Pottery". Arizona State Museum. University of Arizona. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
- ^ Smith 1953, p. 11A.
- ^ a b Ferg 2015, p. 45.
- ^ The Abilene Reporter-News 1946, p. 59.
- ^ a b The Casa Grande Dispatch 1971, p. 7.
- ^ "Red Bowl with black snake design". Brooklyn Museum. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
- ^ The Arizona Independent Republic 1941, p. 27.
- ^ Curtin 1949, p. 36.
- ^ Curtin 1949, p. 39.
- ^ Acuff 1975, p. 4.
- ^ The Arizona Republic 1970, p. 178.
- ^ The Arizona Republic & May 31, 1970, pp. 177–178.
- ^ The Tucson Daily Citizen 1968, p. 22.
- ^ The Lodi News-Sentinel 1971, p. 5.
- ^ Weber 1971, pp. 1, 10.
- ^ Roberts 2015.
Bibliography
- Acuff, Guy (July 2, 1975). "Off the Cuff". Casa Grande, Arizona:
- Curtin, Lenora S. M. (1949). By the Prophet of the Earth. Santa Fe, New Mexico: San Vicente Foundation. OCLC 619867024.
- Ditzler, Robert E. (1967). The Indian people of Arizona. New York, New York: Vantage Press. OCLC 2118356.
- Ferg, Alan (2015). Arizona State Museum. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4671-3162-9.
- Gale, Jaime (February 15, 2012). "History of Ida Redbird". Mesa, Arizona: Mesa Arizona Public Schools. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
- Hayes, Allan; Blom, John; Hayes, Carol (2015). Southwestern Pottery: Anasazi to Zuni (2nd ed.). Lanham, Maryland: Taylor Trade Publishing. ISBN 978-1-58979-862-5.
- Roberts, Kathaleen (June 7, 2015). "Former Jemez Pueblo governor discovers pueblo's long-lost original black-on-white pottery". The Albuquerque Journal. Albuquerque, New Mexico. Archived from the originalon August 15, 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
- Smith, Ida (October 31, 1953). "Meet an Indian Pottery-Maker". Lewiston, Maine: Lewiston Evening Journal. AP. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
- Spier, Leslie (1978). Yuman Tribes of the Gila River (unabridged republication of the original 1933 ed.). New York: Dover Publications. ISBN 978-0-486-23611-7.
- Walker, Bonnie (October 20, 1985). "Women's Hall of Fame inducts former county leader, 3 others". The Courier. Prescott, Arizona. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
- Weber, Will (August 18, 1971). "Hole in the Sky: Big Vacuum Left by Ida Redbird (pt. 1)". Casa Grande, Arizona:
- "E. B. Sayles Photographic Shop Opens Friday at Abilene Museum".
- "How great, really, was her artistry in pottery?".
- "Ida Redbird: the Forgotten Woman? (pt 1)".
- "Ida Redbird's Works Displayed at Museum". Casa Grande, Arizona:
- "Indian Potter Dies When Tree Falls on Her". Lodi, California: The Lodi News-Sentinel. August 12, 1971. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
- "Indians Will Exhibit at Casa Grande". Tucson, Arizona:
- "Pottery Firing to Be Exhibited". Phoenix, Arizona: The Arizona Independent Republic. March 21, 1941. Retrieved 15 August 2016 – via