Few craft artists can claim the worldwide honor and fame bestowed upon Maria Martinez during her lifetime. This modest, traditional Pueblo woman received honorary degrees from major universities, countless medals and citations from governments and institutions, and special invitations to the White House from four different presidents. Maria Martinez (1887-1980) and her husband, Julian (1885-1943) developed the San Ildefonso black-on-black pottery style around 1918-1919. It quickly became popular in the art market and made Maria and Julian famous in both the United States and abroad. To create the famous San Ildefonso black-on-black pottery, the design is painted with a clay slip onto the well-polished, but unfired, surface. The matte finish of the slipped design contrast with the polished surface. The pot is then fired in an oxygen-reduced atmosphere, with masses of animal dung or sawdust. The smoke from the organic material is forced into the top layers of the vessel, turning it black. On the finished product, the slip-painted design appears in a matte gray-to-black against the shiny, iridescent black of the polished surface. The SRJC Multicultural Museum is fortunate to have a sizeable collection of Martinez's iconic pottery, created with her husband Julian, daughter-in-law Santana, and son Popovi-Da.