Helen Cordero; Pueblo Potter Created Storyteller Figure

Helen Cordero, 79, a Cochiti Pueblo potter who created the well-known ceramic storyteller figure--an open-mouthed statue with small ceramic children perched on its body. Miss Cordero’s figures spawned a virtual industry among Pueblo Indian potters, who quickly adopted the storyteller idea and developed variations. The figures were inspired by Miss Cordero’s memories of her grandfather, Santiago Quintana, who was respected for his storytelling abilities. Her works are displayed at the Smithsonian Institution, the Heard Museum in Phoenix, the Institute of American Indian Arts Museum and all of the museums in the Museum of New Mexico system. She received the New Mexico Governor’s Award for Excellence and Achievement in the Arts in 1982 and a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1986. In Santa Fe on Sunday of what was termed a long illness.