Robert Cleto Nichols
Tall Mountain, b. 1961

“I want to be original with my designs. I got turned of f doing the standard feather and serpent designs. I use the melon design, parrot design a design I came up with—kiva steps, and flowers. I saw a lot of flowers etched (sgraffito) on pottery and I wanted to incorporate it in my work.
“I learned by watching everybody It took me a while to learn to mix the clay once I started getting the clay myself. I started part-time when I worked at the Lab [Los Alamos], and what I did didn’t come out. The polishing wasn’t too hot. [I’ve been working] maybe since 1987. I’m not looking to be famous or anything, I just want to do it.”