Description
Mary Coriz Lovato
Award winning Santo Domingo artist Mary Coriz Lovato was born to the Corn Clan in 1936. She is known for her unique mosaic inlay and shell-work. Her mother and father were her teachers.
“We have kept traditional jewelry going here because it is worn for our dances,” says Mary, who still lives at the Santo Domingo Pueblo. “I came up with the shell mosaic work myself. I started in the late ‘50’s.”
“[While creating a piece] I’m praying for everybody-not for myself, but for the whole universe. I talk to my jewelry when I make it. I don’t just make them to make them. After it’s done, I say, ‘Whoever it may go to, may they have strength, may they have a good, happy life.’ So that is the way I do my work.”
