Lonnie Vigil
1994 Dubin Fellow
Lonnie Vigil of New Mexico's Nambe Pueblo, the first recipient of the Ron and Susan Dubin
Native American Artist Fellowship, is a micaceous potter. This style of pottery is
distinguished by the sparkling mica flecks in the clay and by its traditional use for
cooking and storage. Often overlooked by collectors in the past, micaceous pottery is
enjoying a new wave of interest and appreciation.
Vigil had no conscious desire to become an artist when he was growing up at Nambe Pueblo.
Instead, after earning a degree in business administration from Eastern New Mexico
University, he pursued a career as a financial and business consultant in New Mexico and
subsequently in Washington, D.C.
By the early 1980s, Vigil was becoming aware that his work and life in Washington
"gave me nothing to feed my soul." A performance at the Kennedy Center called
"Night of the First Americans" inspired Vigil to return to Nambe, where he began
working with clay. "I prayed for direction from the Clay Mother, and slowly the
information began to come," he says. "I also asked for the help of my
great-grandmother and my great-aunts, who were all potters. And I still ask their guidance
today."
Vigil, whose pots have won the top awards at several Santa Fe Indian Markets, sees himself
as "a guardian of the clay" and says, "I feel responsible for making sure
that the Clay Mother stays alive in my village." Upon receiving the fellowship, Vigil
said, "I am honored to be the first Dubin Fellow at such a fine institution as the
School for Advanced Research. The Fellowship is an affirmation of the work I am
doing."
