2007年VOA标准英语-Acoma Pottery's Geometric Designs Complex, Uniq

By Zulima Palacio
Santa Fe, New Mexico
27 August 2007
 

The western U.S. state of New Mexico has 19 Pueblo¹ tribal² communities, some of them among the oldest American Indian settlements in the United States.  Many of them are well known for their pottery³, and among the best known is Acoma Pueblo pottery with its distinctive⁴ black and white, geometric designs.  Producer Zulima Palacio recently spent time with a well-known Acoma potter and prepared this story.  Deborah Block narrates⁵ it.

Sandra Victorino

Sandra Victorino makes all her pots by hand, with just a few rudimentary tools.  Everything she uses comes from the ancient lands of her American Indian reservation in New Mexico.  She started working with clay 29 years ago, continuing a long family tradition. Many of her pieces sell for thousands of dollars and collectors follow her work closely.  Some of her pots are in museums.

Victorino says it took her a long time to perfect her own style and designs.

Geometric patterns are a hallmark of her pottery

"At night time I would lay there and think and think what would look nice and what would be nice on the pot. I still do that, think of designs that are new."

After Victorino shapes the pots, her sons help her place them out under the desert sun to harden. "This are all the different colors I have here, you have to dig them out of the ground."

And from the yucca shrub⁶ -- common in the New Mexico desert -- Victorino gets her best brushes.  Yucca is very much like the stringy parts of celery.

"This is only two strands⁷ of Yucca … I usually cut it in half and then soften⁸ them like this," she demonstrates. "This lasts me a long time, maybe three months."

All design work on the pottery is done by hand

Victorino uses a pencil to sketch⁹ her initial design -- then adds complexity¹⁰ and depth from there. She finds it amusing when she recalls she was not very good at geometry in school. "Well, one line leads to another line (laugh) -- [it] is almost like stitch, cross stitching."

For hours -- often days -- Victorino sits quietly, painting her pots. One line at a time, the designs take shape; the colors, the forms often ripe with tribal myth and religious meaning.  "Long time ago they were used for storing corn seeds and for planting. They called them the seed pots."

Painting the pottery

Not far from Acoma Pueblo, in the commercial and artistic¹¹ city of Santa Fe, is Andrea Fisher's Fine Pottery Gallery.  Some of Victorino's pots are on display there.  "Its very interesting because it is all done freehand.  There is no pattern, there is no stencil¹².  I know a few potters that just make two or three or four tick marks and then they create these incredible geometric designs."

Andrea Fisher is an authority on American Indian pottery. "American Indian pottery is looked upon by us, the outsiders of the culture, as beautiful objects but it goes much deeper than that.   They are so connected to the culture and the religion."

Whether such art is fully¹³ understood or not, its baffling beauty is obvious, the complexity of its design inspiring. It is an American original.

1 pueblo   

n.（美国西南部或墨西哥等）印第安人的村庄

参考例句：

• For over 2,000 years,Pueblo peoples occupied a vast region of the south-western United States.在长达2，000多年的时间里，印第安人统治着现在美国西南部的大片土地。
• The cross memorializes the Spanish victims of the 1680 revolt,when the region's Pueblo Indians rose up in violent protest against their mistreatment and burned the cit

2 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

3 pottery   

n.陶器，陶器场

参考例句：

• My sister likes to learn art pottery in her spare time.我妹妹喜欢在空余时间学习陶艺。
• The pottery was left to bake in the hot sun.陶器放在外面让炎热的太阳烘晒焙干。

4 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。

5 narrates   

v.故事( narrate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• It narrates the unconstitutional acts of James II. 它历数了詹姆斯二世的违法行为。 来自辞典例句
• Chapter three narrates the economy activity which Jew return the Occident. 第三章讲述了犹太人重返西欧后的经济活动。 来自互联网

6 shrub   

n.灌木，灌木丛

参考例句：

• There is a small evergreen shrub on the hillside.山腰上有一小块常绿灌木丛。
• Moving a shrub is best done in early spring.移植灌木最好是在初春的时候。

7 strands   

n.（线、绳、金属线、毛发等的）股( strand的名词复数 )；缕；海洋、湖或河的)岸；（观点、计划、故事等的）部份v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Twist a length of rope from strands of hemp. 用几股麻搓成了一段绳子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She laced strands into a braid. 她把几股线编织成一根穗带。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 soften   

v.(使)变柔软；(使)变柔和

参考例句：

• Plastics will soften when exposed to heat.塑料适当加热就可以软化。
• This special cream will help to soften up our skin.这种特殊的护肤霜有助于使皮肤变得柔软。

9 sketch   

n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述

参考例句：

• My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。
• I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。

10 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

11 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

12 stencil   

v.用模版印刷；n.模版；复写纸，蜡纸

参考例句：

• He then stencilled the ceiling with a moon and stars motif.他随后用模版在天花板上印上了月亮和繁星图案。
• Serveral of commonly used methods are photoprinting,photoengraving,mechnical engraving,and stencil.通常所采用的几种储存方法是：影印法、照相蚀刻、机械雕刻和模板。

13 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。