American Indian legends represented in pottery
By Vincent Nicholas Rossi
UNION-TRIBUNE
May 7, 2005
VALLEY CENTER – The late Genevieve Golsh, an American Indian ceramic artist, was a collector of legends.
In the early 1970s, she told a San Diego Union reporter: "I've collected so many legends that I could write 20 books, but I don't suppose I'll ever get it all done."
She did write books, but she mainly put her collected legends onto pottery – cups, saucers, plates and whole sets of dishes. Golsh painted figures from American Indian folklore and tradition on each piece, writing a detailed explanation on the back.
A large selection of Golsh's pottery is on exhibit through May 31 at the Valley Center History Museum.
The pieces portray a range of tribal traditions and designs. There are representations of ceremonial dancers, animals and plants. There are also designs that appear strikingly abstract.
One plate shows a dancing figure in ceremonial headdress, the "San Juan Deer Dancer," who "dances the night before the hunt to appease the spirit of the animal he is about to kill."
A large serving dish shows triangular wings with rectangular shapes between them, in alternating shades of black and white. Golsh's written explanation says the design is based on a prehistoric painting depicting the feathers of an eagle: "The Pawnee believed that as the feathers of the eagle were blended in color, so life was blended" between "good and evil – joy and sorrow." Each, she concludes, "must perfectly balance the other."
Golsh, who was born in Oklahoma in 1901, was one-quarter Cherokee and three-quarters English. She embraced her American Indian heritage and lived the last 50 years of her life in an adobe house on the Rincon reservation. Her second husband, Marcos Golsh, was chief of the Rincon band during the 1940s. He died in 1988, and she died in 1992.
She is fondly recalled by many in the Valley Center area as a vivacious, multitalented person – an artist, lecturer and writer as well as a great cook and hostess.
Her niece, Virginia Fenske, called her "one of those sparkling, fun people" who loved to entertain and loved people.
During her lifetime, Golsh received a number of honors, including Woman of the Year in 1973 from the Palomar District Women's Clubs, and Woman of Achievement in 1976 and 1977 from the National League of American Pen Women. She also received a Freddie award, which is given by Popular Ceramics magazine to outstanding ceramics artists.
Among the places that have exhibited her ceramics are the Southwest Museum of the American Indian in Los Angeles, the Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial at Gallup, N.M., and the California State Fair.
Golsh sold her ceramic pieces out of her home and through the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana.
She was not commercially oriented, said Bill Kearney, a certified antiques appraiser from Pauma Valley.
Nevertheless, Kearney knows of people "who would pay anything" for one of Golsh's pieces.
"It's museum quality," he said. "You almost feel a reverence for it."
Golsh's pottery will be on exhibit at the Valley Center History Museum through May. The museum is at 29200 Cole Grade Road. Hours are Tuesdays through Saturdays, noon to 4 p.m.
For further information, call the museum at (760) 749-2993.
Vincent Nicholas Rossi is a freelance writer from Rancho Bernardo.
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Last updated on May 08, 2005