(1951-2007)
Tribal Affiliation: Hopi
Marianne Navasie was the daughter of famed Hopi Potter, Joy Navasie and the granddaughter of world renowned Paqua Naha, the original Frog Woman. She was married to Harrison Jim, who painted and created pottery with Marianne featuring carved reliefs and Hopi traditional designs. Her sister, Grace Navasie, is also a promenent potter using the traditional family whiteware slip.
Although Marianne was only three years old when her grandmother died, she recalled her grandmother and her mother always working with clay. Marianne mastered the white ware look pioneered by Paqua and carried on by her mother as she continued the family tradition. She began making beautiful pottery when she was 18 years old.
Marianne gathered all her materials (natural pigments) from within the Hopi Reservation. She cleaned, mixed; hand coiled, shaped, sanded, painted, and fired her pottery outdoors with sheep dung. She signed her pottery with the “Paqua” (frog symbol), but put a tadpole next to it so it indicated her place within her family tree. “My mother always pushed us to stay with traditional hand coiled pottery making methods and to carry on the frog style” Navasie said. Marianne was left handed, so her work moved in the opposite direction of her mother’s. Later as she continued to make pottery, Marianne used the letter “M” beside the frog symbol, instead of her original tadpole.