Therese Tohtsoni-Prudencio

• Award-winning traditional potter
• Picuris Pueblo
• One of very few artists creating traditional pottery in Picuris Pueblo
• Known for elegant micaceous clay vessels

• 2nd Place, Pottery, New Mexico State Fair, 2012
• Best of Classification, Diverse Art Forms, Santa Fe Indian Market, 2009
• 3rd Place, Pottery, Santa Fe Indian Market, 2008

Therese Tohtsoni-Prudencio is one of very few artists from Picuris Pueblo who are still creating museum-quality, traditional pottery, an art she learned from her mother, Irene Simbolo. She creates her own clay by hand using the micaceous clay found in northern New Mexico, and is known for her elegant vessels, including the well-known bean pots of Picuris Pueblo. Before firing, she sprinkles corn pollen inside her pot as a blessing, and the corn pollen creates small freckles that are a signature feature of her work. Tohtsoni-Prudencio has won awards at Santa Fe Indian Market and the New Mexico State Fair. Tohtsoni-Prudencio is also a carpenter and was the first to introduce sculptured furniture at Santa Fe Indian Market. She has passed on the art of traditional pottery to her own children.