Johnathan Loretto is a Renaissance man. He makes pottery and jewelry, plays guitar, owns Rough Rider Beef Jerky, and participates in Native dances. He studied culinary arts at Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute, in Albuquerque, and photography at the Institute of American Indian Arts, in Santa Fe.
Jonathan’s heritage is Cochiti an Jemez. He was born to Cochiti potter Snowflake Flower (Stephanie Rhoades) and Cipriano Loretto, of Jemez.
His first artistic endeavor was jewelry-making, which he learned from his brother Phil. Jonathan’s art may be contemporary, but he says, “It’s the creativity and movement of life itself that inspires me. It’s the respect I have for my elders and ancestors that keeps me humble in creating pieces that are non-offensive to their teachings, for what we create speaks volumes of our values, of who we really are as artists.”
