- Clay artist Mary Holmes has worked with clay for 35 years. Having study art and
Mary first set up a small studio of her home in Tempe, AZ.
Tempe has always been a great thriving artists community many small arts and crafts shops along Mill
Avenue, the old main street of Tempe. A group of artist put together an arts and crafts festival in the month
of December to encourage the surrounding cities to support the little town and its' artists. It was called "The
Haydens Ferry Arts and
Crafts Festival" after the river crossing at the north end of Mill Avenue in later years the festival was
renamed 'the Mill Avenue arts and Crafts Festival'. Mary participated in the first of these festivals and
many more in the years to follow.
Soon Mary was on the road doing other arts and crafts fairs in other states. Hard work for a mother of a
growing son.
Mary moved to Socorro, NM in 1981 to take a job with the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. Settling
down in Socorro to work as a Mechanical designer/drafter on the VLA/VLBA projects and raise her son,
Noah.
Being a potter was put on the side for awhile, it was always tugging at her soul to be a potter. Once her son,
Noah was off to The American Music and Dramatic Academy in New York, Mary was back in the studio and
back doing what she loved.
Creating pottery for people to use in their everyday life. Mary also taught pottery at New Mexico Institute
of Mining and Technology near her home in Socorro. With the ever growing art community in Socorro there
was a need for a gallery in town. Mary
wanted to bring the local artist together into a co-op gallery. Tamarisk Gallery was born. The local artists
worked to keep the gallery going. Tamarisk Gallery thrived. Her wholesale business and gallery
representation was growing. At the same tine she wanted to explore the rich cultures in other countries, meet
other potters and exchange ideas. In 1995 she took her first of many trips to Belize, in Central America with
a group of potters. The purpose of the trip was to do a workshop in a small jungle village call Succotz.
With Mayan ruins all around and a talented family of local potters, Mary was enchanted by the people,
cultures, children, and ancient influences of the Maya. Mary travels to Belize to study ancient Mayan
pottery. Working with a extended family of Mayan potters, the Maganya's, even the children make whistles
that look like the local animals of Belize. Mary has been back a number
of time to visit her friends and of course to see how the amazing little artists have grown. By sharing
technique's Mary has expanded her own clay knowledge. The 2005 trip to Belize found Mary in northern
Belize, in the Rio Bravo Reserve, at an archeology camp with other potters from the U.S, working on
replicating the ancient Mayan pottery with local clays with only the tools the Mayans may have used to
produce their magnificent pottery. What a wonderful experience sitting in the humid, hot jungle with salt
bees buzzing around her hands as she worked. Howler monkeys sleeping in the trees, and Chachalaca birds
resounding calls in the canopy.
In 2000 Mary moved to the high mesa in Belen and built the new studio. Originally
Middle Earth Pottery, Mary decided that the business and studio needed a change.
Having moved to a high mesa in Belen, New Mexico, where the wind blows almost all
the time especially in the spring, Windy Mesa Pottery seemed appropriate.
Galleries were requesting more of Mary's work. She has developed an amazing Terra Segillata that produces
the satin surface for the horsehair pottery she produces. The hand carved images with variegated gold leaf
overlay have become her most popular.
Mary's pottery is well known through out the U.S.
Windy Mesa Pottery will continue to grow.
| Windy Mesa Pottery |
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About the Artist
| Workshops available. Contact: Mary Holmes PO. Box 1518PO. Box 1518 Belen, NM 87002 505-864-0309 windymesapottery@att.net |
| For Retail Pricing: www.horsehairpottery.net |