Clarence Cruz
Cruz grew up at Ohkay Owingeh, formally known as San Juan Pueblo in Northern New Mexico on The Rio Grande. Currently, he is Associate Professor of Art at the University of New Mexico. A Graduate of the University, with a BFA/and MFA in Studio Arts, he also minored in museum studies and won an intership at the famed Maxwell Museum of Anthropology at the University. Cruz works in six different traditions of Ohkay Owingeh pottery making. He personally gathers his raw materials. Three different methods of are employed by Cruz; open firing, oxidation and reduction firing to achieve distinctive surface results. Devoted to disseminating the traditions of pottery making he is widely in demand regionally, nationally and is affiliated with Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute in China.