Juana Leno | Also Known As: Juana Louis Vallo

Juana Leno is known for work with the dense Acoma clay that allowed her to produce pieces that are thin and light weight. The pieces are white with either red or black ...
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Typical Marks

    About
    Biography

    Juana Leno is known for work with the dense Acoma clay that allowed her to produce pieces that are thin and light weight. The pieces are white with either red or black designs with the characteristic fine lines and geometric patterns. These designs were often seen only on shards of Tularosa and Anasazi pots. Leno also produced work with polychrome images.Typically she used a paint brush made from leaves of the Yucca plant.

    Juana Leno was born and lived in Acoma Pueblo where she was a respected pottery master.

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    Apprenticeships & Residencies
    Primary Work Experience

    Other

    Public Collections

    Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, California

    Bibliography

    Hayes, Allan, John Blom and Carol Hayes. Southwestern Pottery: Anasazi to Zuni. Lanham, MD: Taylor Trade Publishing, 2015.

    Kelly, Susan Croce. Route 66: The Highway and Its People. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1990.

    Minge, Ward Alan and Simon Ortiz. Acoma: Pueblo in the Sky, revised edition. Santa Fe, NM: University of New Mexico Press, 1991.

    Schaaf, Gregory and Angie. Southern Pueblo Pottery: 2,000 Artist Biographies. Santa Fe, NM: CIAC Press, 2002.

    Tucker, Toba, Rina Swentzell, and A. L. Bush. Pueblo Artists: Portraits. Santa Fe, NM: Museum of New Mexico Press, 1998. 

    CV or Resume

    Website(s)
    Tags (related topics)

    Acoma Pueblo

    local clay

    olla

    Citation: Juana Leno, "The Marks Project."
    Last modified April 29, 2026. https://www.themarksproject.org/artists/juana-leno

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