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Dora Tse-Pé

born 1939 Zia Pueblo, New Mexico; lives San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico

BiographyDora Tse-Pé was born in 1939 in Zia Pueblo, one of thirteen children of Candelaria Medina of Zia and Tony Gachupin of Jemez. She learned the basic important things about pottery making from her mother and grandmother, Rosalie Toribio. In 1961 she married Tse-Pé of San Ildefonso and moved to San Ildefonso Pueblo. Her husband is also a potter. Dora Tse-Pé decided to pursue pottery after watching her mother-in-law, Rose Gonzales, make pottery. Gonzales was from San Juan Pueblo and married into San Ildefonso and was known for her black ware and deeply carved pottery. Dora Tse-Pé learned how to polish pots from Gonzales and was also inspired by the two-tone black and sienna ware of Popovi Da and the inlay of stones in pottery of Tony Da. She worked with Gonzales for over ten years and began making pottery on her own in the late 1970s.

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