Maria Ramita Simbolo Martinez "Summer Harvest" (1884 - October 1969) was a Picuris Pueblo potter. Martinez learned traditional methods of creating pottery and has been recognized for preserving a cultural tradition of the Picuris Pueblo. Martinez collaborated with her husband, Juan José Martinez, who decorated her finished pots.
Maria Ramita Martinez | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1884 Picuris Pueblo |
| Died | October 1969(1969-10-00) (aged 84–85) |
| Resting place | Picuris |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Potter |
| Style | Traditional |
| Spouse(s) | Juan José Martinez |
Martinez was born in Picuris Pueblo in 1884 to the Simbola family.[1] She learned to make pots by watching her mother, Solidad Simbola, make her own.[1] In the pueblo, she was known as "Summer Harvest."[2] She married Juan José Martinez, and the couple had six children together.[2] She and her husband collaborated on the pottery she made and sold their items together from the back of a wagon.[1]
Martinez died in October 1969 and was buried in Picuris.[3] A historic marker in New Mexico describes her contribution to the preservation of traditional pottery methods.[1]
Martinez gathered clay from the hills outside Picuris.[4] Martinez used traditional methods to work on her pots which were generally red-brown in color and had a sparkles from the mica in the clay.[5] She would shape the pots and then her husband, Juan José Martinez, would decorate them before firing.[6]
Martinez's work is part of the collections of the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture[7] and the Leonard D. Hollister Collection at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.[8]