Joe Cajero

"Never intending to be a sculptor, Joe Cajero considered himself a painter. His mother worked with clay, primarily producing the famous storyteller doll. Creative and opinionated, Cajero was always suggesting she do it this or that way until she got fed up and slapped a ball of clay in front of the 12 year-old and told him to do it himself.





He began making crude bear storyteller dolls. Two years later his bears had acquired muscle tone and the claws had become fingers. The famous Cajero koshari figure was a natural evolution. Today, he is one of the most versatile artists in clay in the Native American art market. He is pivotal in changing the perception about clay sculpture from craft to art.





Cajero acquired a degree at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico in two-dimensional fine art but took several courses in three-dimensional art as well, including clay sculpture. His own outlook on life and a tremendous demand for his work continued to lead toward creating more of his laughing, playful jokesters.





Though famous for his kosharis, Cajero usually creates multiple figure scenes of a village or his life on the pueblo. He can create virtually anything out of clay. Blue Rain Gallery has been instrumental in the next step in Cajeros career: converting his clay figures into bronzes, generally considered a major advancement in an artists career.





Cajeros work is in tremendous demand, and is some of the most recognizable and desirable in the Southwest. Nothing approaches the creative expression of sensitivity, humor, and love for life like a Cajero sculpture."