Ceramics

Péshlish Tóovish :: White Clay Pottery

High-Fire Porcelain Ceramics inspired by the culture of the Payómkawiichum.

Gallery Shows

• “Recalling from the Source” - Cal Poly Humboldt - Goudi’ni Gallery (2022)

• “From the Source” - Ink People Center for the Arts - Tuxford Gallery, (2019)

• “Woven Earth” - Humboldt State University - Foyer Gallery (2018)

Nichole Vasquez Sutter was born and raised in the Inland Empire of Southern California and is a member of the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians of Temecula, CA. Growing up involved in her tribe’s youth group, she developed her love for ceramics while learning how to make traditional Indigenous pottery from the artist Tony Soares. In high school, she continued her passion for pottery taking it as an elective and participating in her school’s Ceramics Club. While in community college, she earned an associate’s degree in Fine and Applied Arts by pursuing studio ceramics under John Hopkins and Steven Horn’s guidance. At Humboldt State University, while earning her Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy, Nichole minored in Native American studies and Studio Art, where she learned high-fire and low-fire practices from Keith Schneider and Ryan Hurst. It was in the HSU Ceramics Lab that she began to develop her style for weaving baskets and teapots with porcelain, experimenting with making sprig molds of acorns and arrowheads to adorn her porcelain tumblers, and glazing the Luiseño basket patterns on her cups. Her work in porcelain is influenced by various aspects of her Luiseño culture, from the mission baskets she learned to weave, to the arrowheads she carved as a teen, and the acorns she collected from the perimeter of the treasured oak trees behind her grandfather’s house; every piece of her art is an echo of Southern California Indigenous culture.