Patricia Romero

Clay and ceramic items painted in the traditional way - with a yucca stem paint brush - by Acoma Pueblo artist Patricia Romero.

Hello! My name is Patricia A. Romero. I'm from Pueblo of Acoma, New Mexico.

I've been paining since I was 16 years old - for about 45 years now! When I started off, my mother would design a piece and let me fill in the black and orange. She would mark on it which color went where and then she would go back and clean my mistakes. I tried using store-bought paint brushes but I could not get the brush to work for me. Then that's when my mother said to use a Yucca stem. She said I had to chew on the stem to make it soft. It didn't taste good; it was bitter! Then you scrape off the green part, then soften it. It took a while to get the hang of it, and now I am happy with my work. I love to paint and give my pieces as gifts. To look at people's reactions makes me feel good inside, then I know they love it.