Louise goodman artist deer

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One of the most innovative styles of pottery Goodman developed is a modified coil pot, one in which the coils are obliterated only on the interior surface.

Goodman's work has been exhibited at the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff, Arizona, the Heard Museum in Phoenix, the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and the Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock, Arizona.

  • Bear, 1990, fired clay with piñon pitch, 22 1/4 x 10 5/8 x 10 7/8 in, Smithsonian American Art Museum.
  • Coiled Pot, about 1986, fired clay with piñon pitch, 14 7/8 x 11 1/8 in.

    She works in a "closet-sized studio" in her house in Cow Springs, Arizona, at the end of a trail leading from an abandoned trading post. This pot is also made from fired clay with piñon pitch. But she is especially famous for her animal figures! It is also held at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

  • Selected Exhibitions

    Louise Goodman's art has been part of several group exhibitions.

    Her work is also at the Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock, Arizona. This was a smart way to keep her art popular!

    louise goodman artist deer

    Goodman's choice of the bear reflects the important role this animal has played in the lives of the Navajo and other Native American communities. When the demand for functional works decreased in the 1980s she turned to animal figures. She is known for making beautiful pottery, especially ceramic art. A key source of food and of materials for clothing, shelter, and ceremonial objects, they are also important as emblems of power and plenitude.

    Lynda Hartigan Contemporary Folk Art: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum (exhibition text, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 1999)

    Luce Artist Biography

    When Louise Goodman realized that the demand for functional pottery was falling, she began making decorative rope pots, wedding vases, and animals.

    She has made clay sculptures of chickens, rams, dogs, squirrels, bears, lions, elephants, and other animals, both from farms and the wild.

    She started making more animal figures when she noticed that people were buying fewer of her everyday pots. Her work has been displayed at the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff, Arizona. You can even find her art at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C..

    Selected Works

    Here are some examples of Louise Goodman's artwork:

    • Bear, made in 1990.

      This is a special group within the Navajo Nation. (37.8 x 28.3 cm) diam., Smithsonian American Art Museum.

    Louise Goodman (artist) facts for kids

    Quick facts for kids

    Louise Goodman

    Coiled pot in fired clay with piñon pitch, ca. These are shows where many artists display their work together.

    • 1988 – anii ánáádaalyaa'ii; Continuity and Innovation in Recent Navajo Art, at the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
    • 1989 – Navajo Junction: Where Navajo Potteries Meet, at the Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson.
    • 1993 – Leets 'aa bi Diné Dáályé: It Is Called Navajo Pottery, at the Phoebe A.

      Hearst Museum of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, California.

    • 1994 – Contemporary Art of the Navajo Nation, a traveling exhibit organized by Cedar Rapids Museum of Art. It was shown in places like the Albuquerque Museum, New Mexico, and the Museum of the Southwest, Texas.
    1986, by Louise Goodman Smithsonian American Art Museum

    BornDecember 25, 1937

    Cow Springs, Navajo Nation, Arizona

    NationalityNavajo
    Known forCeramics
    Spouse(s)Eddie Goodman sr.

    Louise Rose Goodman, born on December 25, 1937, is a talented Navajo artist.

    Louise Goodman

    Artist

    born Cow Springs, Navajo Nation, AZ 1937

    Active in
    • Cow Springs, Navajo Nation, Arizona, United States
    Biography

    A contemporary exponent of a longstanding Navajo pottery tradition, Goodman has produced simple vessels and utilitarian objects.

    Her range of work includes standard jars and bowls produced in a wide variety of shapes including a significant amount of animal forms such as chickens, rams, dogs, squirrels, bears, lions, elephants, and other domestic and wild creatures. She learned how to make pottery from her sister-in-law, Lorena Bartlett.