Pottery Project
This trip begins in Phoenix, Arizona and ends in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Visit the great potters in every Pueblo and enjoy an opportunity to talk and buy directly from the artists. There are lectures by the tour leader who is an expert and knows the potters. There are also visits to ruins and other spectacular southwestern attractions along the way.
Day 1
Phoenix. Individual arrivals. Check into the Hyatt Regency in Phoenix. Welcome reception and dinner in the Compass Restaurant at the Hyatt. Brief talk on the history of pottery.
Day 2
Phoenix. Breakfast at the Hotel. Morning tour at the Heard Museum with the curator. The internationally acclaimed Heard Museum is one of the best places to experience the myriad cultures and art of Native Americans of the Southwest. The museum's 10 spacious exhibit galleries and beautiful outdoor courtyards feature outstanding traditional and contemporary Native American art.
Return to the hotel for lunch on your own. After lunch gather in on of the meeting rooms for a lecture on the history of pottery.
There will be an evening reception and dinner at the home of a collector in Phoenix. Overnight at the Hyatt Regency.
Day 3
Phoenix-Hopi. Early breakfast at the Hotel.
Drive up to Hopi. There will be a lunch stop en route to Hopi and a visit to the Museum of Northern Arizona.
Museum of Northern Arizona (MNA) is a private, nonprofit institution that was originally established as a repository for Native American artifacts and natural history specimens from the Colorado Plateau. The original founders, zoologist Dr. Harold S. Colton and artist Mary-Russell Ferrell Colton, who were from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, were dedicated to preserving the history and cultures of northern Arizona.
The Hopi live on top of and around three Mesas (a high plateau or table and with steep sides) in the arid highlands of northern Arizona. The group will visit these mesas and spend time with one of the most well known potters, Steve Lucas. He will invite us into his home and tell us about his work and the Hopi people.
The group will overnight at the Hopi Cultural Center and Hotel on the second Mesa. Dinner will be at the Cultural Center followed by a slide show and lecture on the artists and pottery of Zuni.
Day 4
Hopi-Zuni. The group will head for the Zuni Pueblo. After a welcome at the visitors center there will be a tour of the Middle Village at the Pueblo as well as the Old Mission Church. The Church was founded in 1629 but the Zunis were not easily Christianized and many of the early priests were martyred. There are beautiful murals on the walls that depict these scenes that were painted by the Zunis after they drove the priests away (Church may be closed due to various situations of Zuni politics).
The group will return to the Pueblo for a traditional Zuni lunch cooked by one of the local residents, followed by a visit to the A:shiwi A:wan Museum and Heritage Center.
After lunch the group will gather again and visit one of the local artists. After our visit, there will be time for shopping at the trading post.
The group will have dinner on their own at the Holiday Inn Express where they will overnight.
Day 5
Acoma-Santa Fe. Enroute to Santa Fe, the group will stop at the Acoma Pueblo, also called the "Sky City." This nickname comes from its impressive location on a 357-foot high butte. Acoma has been continuously occupied since 1075 AD. Coronado described Acoma as a "single small city" and visited here in 1540.
We will start the tour with a visit with one of the pueblos well known artists. The artist will give them a pottery demonstration, talk about her work and then prepare a traditional meal for lunch. (pending confirmation)
After lunch, there will be a guided tour of the upper village.
Arrival in Santa Fe around 4 pm and check-in to the Inn of the Governors. Dinner will be on your own tonight.
Day 6
Santa Fe. Lavish continental breakfast at the Inn. This morning there will a private behind-the-scenes tour at the Laboratory of Anthropology with your study leader, Bruce, the former curator at the Lab. He will show and talk about varies antique pottery from the people of some of the northern Pueblos. (Pending confirmation)
After the Lab, the group will board the bus to visit the pueblos. En-route to the Pueblos, there will be a lunch stop at Gabriel's.
Return to Santa Fe.
Day 7
Santa Fe. Lavish continental breakfast at the Inn.
There will be a morning tour at the School of American Research, an anthropological think-tank, SAR studies culture around the world and through time.
Lunch will be at the home of a collector (Pending confirmation)
Afternoon free
Meet in the early evening for reception at the Robert Nichols Gallery followed by a farewell dinner at the home of Ellen Bradbury, director of Royal Road Tours and former director at the Museum of Fine Arts in Santa Fe.
Farewell dinner.
Overnight at the Inn.
Day 8
Santa Fe. Individual departures.
Itineraries are samples and may change according to availability of the speaker and locations. All itineraries may be customized and modified to suit circumstances.