Ida Sahmie facts for kids

Ida Sahmie (born Nobell in 1960) is a talented artist who creates beautiful pottery. She is from the Navajo people. Ida Sahmie combines old Hopi ways of making pots with special Navajo designs and symbols. Her amazing artwork is so important that it is shown in famous places like the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian.

About Ida Sahmie

Ida Sahmie was born in 1960 near a place called Pine Springs, Arizona. She is a member of the Navajo Nation. When she grew up, she married a Hopi man named Andrew "Louie" Sahmie. After they married, she moved to the Hopi reservation.

Ida learned how to make pottery from her husband's mother, Priscilla Namingha. Priscilla was also a very skilled potter. Ida Sahmie started selling her own pottery in the 1980s.

How She Creates Her Art

Ida Sahmie's pottery shapes are based on old Hopi traditions. But she adds her own special touch by using traditional Navajo designs. These designs often include Yei figures, which are important spiritual symbols in Navajo culture.

Ida likes to use clay that she finds on the Navajo reservation. She uses white and yellow clay for the main part of her pots. To make the black color for her designs, she mixes wild spinach into the clay. This creates a special black slip. She fires her pots outdoors using traditional methods, just like people have done for many years.

Where to See Her Work

Ida Sahmie's beautiful pottery is recognized as important art. You can see her work in two major museums. One is the Smithsonian American Art Museum, which is a very famous museum in Washington, D.C. The other is the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, which focuses on Native American art and culture.