(1984-Present)
Pueblo: Zuni Pueblo
Kateri Sanchez is an up and coming carver who is developing her own style. She is a member of the Quandelacy family of Zuni fetish carvers and is the daughter of Georgia Quandelacy. She began carving corn maidens at age nine with the help of her Aunt Faye. “My mom tried teaching me to carve bears and turtles, but I loved the corn maidens, commented Kateri. Although Kateri carves a variety of animals, her maidens can sometimes surpass those of her mother and aunts, Faye and Sandra Quandelacy. Kateri said, ”I became serious about carving at the age of 21 and applied to Indian Market in 2007 on my own…I won 1st place that year and also 1st at Gallup Ceremonial -2007. Most recently, Kateri was awarded first place at the Santa Fe Indian Market. At the 56th Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market competition in spring of 2015, Kateri won 1st and 2nd place for her incredible carvings.
“Animal carvings are very new for me; I started doing frogs last year and sort of branched out…a few buffaloes and then the owls and bears. Owls, have since, become my absolute favorite thing to carve, but I still love the corn maidens because they’re what I started with.”