{{Short description|American ceramist and potter}} {{Infobox person | name = Alice Williams Cling | image = | alt = | caption = | birth_name = Alice Williams | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1946|03|21}} | birth_place = Cow Springs, Arizona U.S. | other_names = Alice Williams Cling | occupation = Navajo potter<br/>Ceramicist | education = Intermountain Indian School | years_active = 1976-present }} <!--thumb|Pot with Incised Geometric Decoration, 1988, fired clay with red clay slip and piñon pitch by Alice Cling.--> '''Alice Williams Cling''' (Navajo, born March 21, 1946)<ref name=Grove-Cling-2011>{{cite book|last1=Booker|first1=Margaret Moore|editor1-last=Marter|editor1-first=Joan M.|title=The Grove Encyclopedia of American Art|date=2011|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0-199-73926-4|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sPGdBxzaWj0C&pg=PA492|chapter=Cling, Alice|oclc=701369915}}</ref> is a Native American ceramist and potter known for creating beautiful and innovative pottery that has a distinctive rich reds, purples, browns and blacks that have a polished and shiny exteriors, revolutionizing the functional to works of art.<ref name=Grove-Cling-2011 /><ref name=AmericanFolkArt-Cling-2012>{{cite book|editor1-last=Congdon|editor1-first=Kristin G.|editor2-last=Hallmark|editor2-first=Kara Kelley|title=American Folk Art: A Regional Reference|date=2012|publisher=ABC-CLIO|location=Santa Barbara, CA|isbn=978-0-313-34936-2|pages=487–488|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MYUuFDEHmlsC&pg=PA487 |chapter=Alice Williams Cling|oclc=721891434}}</ref> Critics have argued that she is the most important Navajo potter of the last 25 years.<ref name=DineHistoryNavajos-Cling-2003>{{cite book|last1=Iverson|first1=Peter|last2=Roessel|first2=Monty|title=Diné: A History of the Navajos|date=2003|publisher=University of New Mexico Press|location=Albuquerque, NM|isbn=978-0-826-32715-4|pages=313–314|oclc=491094601}}</ref><ref name=NativeAmericanWomen-Cling-2005>{{cite book|last1=Bataille|first1=Gretchen M.|last2=Lisa|first2=Laurie|title=Native American Women: A Biographical Dictionary|date=2005|publisher=Taylor & Francis|location=New York, NY|isbn=978-1-135-95587-8|page=336|oclc=909403141}}</ref>

== Early life == Cling was born in Cow Springs, Arizona, in the Tonalea area of the Navajo Nation.<ref name=Grove-Cling-2011 /><ref name=AmericanFolkArt-Cling-2012 />

In 1966, Cling graduated from the Intermountain Indian School in Brigham City, Utah.<ref name=Grove-Cling-2011 /><ref name=AdobeGallery-AliceWilliamsCling>{{cite web|title=Alice Williams Cling (1946 - )|url=https://www.adobegallery.com/artist/Alice_Cling79071519|website=Adobe Gallery, Santa Fe}}</ref>

== Career == Cling learned the craft of pottery from her mother, Rose Williams, and her great-aunt, Grace Barlow. The pots are created from clay found near the Black Mesa area in Apache-Navajo Counties in Arizona, and are then fired outdoors using juniper wood, with the firing process enhancing the clay's natural pigments.<ref name=WAAW-AliceCling-1997>{{cite web|last1=Peterson|first1=Susan|editor-last1=Ressler|editor-first1=Susan R.|title=Alice Cling|url=https://www.cla.purdue.edu/WAAW/Peterson/Cling.html|website=Women Artists of the American West|publisher=Purdue University|date=1997}}</ref> Cling and her mother and aunt were responsible for revitalizing traditional Navajo pottery.<ref name=NavajoPottery-Cling-1987>{{cite book|last1=Hartman|first1=Russell P.|last2=Tanner|first2=Clara Lee (introduction by)|last3=Trimble|first3=Stephen (photographs by)|editor1-last=Musial|editor1-first=Jan|title=Navajo Pottery: Traditions & Innovations|date=1987|publisher=Northland Press|location=Flagstaff, AZ|isbn=978-0-873-58430-2|chapter=Chapter 6. Revitalization of Navajo Pottery and Chapter 7. Contemporary Pitch-Coated Navajo Pottery|oclc=16518200}}</ref>

Cling is a coil potter, and was the first Navajo potter to use a smooth river stone to polish her pots instead of the traditional corncob.<ref name=PeopleSpeak-Cling-1994>{{cite book|last1=Rosenak|first1=Chuck|last2=Rosenak|first2=Jan|title=The People Speak: Navajo Folk Art|date=1994|publisher=Northland Pub.|location=Flagstaff, AZ|isbn=978-0-873-58565-1|pages=117–118|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DN49Z491G-kC&q=cling|chapter=Alice Cling|oclc=29219259}}</ref><ref name=NavajoHopi-MNA-2009>{{cite news|last1=Mountain|first1=Michele|title=Navajo traditions expressed at MNA arts, culture festival|url=https://www.nhonews.com/news/2009/jul/21/navajo-traditions-expressed-at-mna-arts-culture-f/|work=Navajo-Hopi Observer|date=21 July 2009|language=en}}</ref> Her pottery is considered non-utilitarian, which represented a huge shift from function to art.<ref name=AmericanFolkArt-Cling-2012 /><ref name=NativeNorthAmericanFirsts-Cling-1998>{{cite book|last1=Swisher|first1=Karen Gayton|last2=Benally|first2=AnCita|title=Native North American Firsts|date=1998|publisher=Gale|location=Detroit, MI|isbn=978-0-787-60518-6|pages=xliii, 13|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EVprAAAAMAAJ&q=cling|oclc=36994787}}</ref>

In 1978, Cling's work was selected by Joan Mondale and featured in the vice-presidential mansion in Washington, D.C. and she was honored with the Arizona Indian Living Treasures Award in 2006. Cling's work is in the collection of the Smithsonian.<ref name=Smithsonian-Cling>{{cite web|title=Alice Cling|url=http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artist/?id=7459|website=Smithsonian American Art Museum}}</ref>

== Personal life == Cling learned her pottery skills from her mother, master potter Rose Williams.<ref name=Grove-Cling-2011 /><ref name=MuseumAmericanFolkArt-Cling-1990>{{cite book|last1=Rosenak|first1=Chuck|last2=Rosenak|first2=Jan|title=Museum of American Folk Art Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century American Folk Art and Artists|date=1990|publisher=Abbeville Press|location=New York, NY|isbn=978-1-558-59041-0|pages=[https://archive.org/details/museumofamerican00rose/page/76 76–77, 359]|chapter=Alice Cling|oclc=22183658|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/museumofamerican00rose/page/76}}</ref> She lived across the highway from her mother in Shonto, Arizona.<ref name=Grove-Cling-2011 /> Following in the family tradition, Cling's daughters are also artists, as are her sisters, Sue Ann Williams, and Susie Williams Crank.<ref name=AdobeGallery-AliceWilliamsCling />

Cling married Jervis "Jerry" Cling shortly after graduating from high school.<ref name=Grove-Cling-2011 /> They had four children.<ref name=AmericanFolkArt-Cling-2012 /> She works and lives in the Shonto-Cow Springs area in Arizona.<ref name=Grove-Cling-2011 />

== Collections == * Amerind Foundation, Dragoon, AZ * Arizona State Museum, Tempe, AZ<ref name=AmericanFolkArt-Cling-2012 /> * Heard Museum, Phoenix, AZ<ref name=AmericanFolkArt-Cling-2012 /> * Millicent Rogers Museum, Taos, NM<ref name=AmericanFolkArt-Cling-2012 /> * Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ<ref name=AmericanFolkArt-Cling-2012 /> * Spencer Museum of Art, Lawrence, KS<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://collection.spencerart.ku.edu/eMuseumPlus?service=ExternalInterface&siteId=1&module=artist&objectId=25834&viewType=detailView&lang=en&actionListenerClassName=ch.zetcom.mp.presentation.tapestry.util.customCode.ActivateDetailTabPos2ActionListener|title=Spencer Museum of Art {{!}} Collection - Cling, Alice Alice Cling|website=collection.spencerart.ku.edu|access-date=2017-03-15}}</ref>

== Awards == * 2006: Arizona Indian Living Treasures Award<ref name=AILTA-Award-2006>{{cite web|title=Alice Cling|url=http://www.ailta.org/living-treasures/alice-cling|website=Arizona Indian Living Treasures Awards|date=2006}}</ref>

== Selected works == * {{SAAM|36237|Wedding Vase with Braided Handles}}, 1987 * {{SAAM|36238|Pot with Incised Geometric Decoration}}, 1988

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

== Further reading == * {{Cite book| isbn = 978-1-135-95587-8| last1 = Bataille| first1 = Gretchen M| last2 = Lisa| first2 = Laurie| title = Native American women: a biographical dictionary| date = 2005| publisher = Routledge}} * {{Cite book| publisher = Abbeville| isbn = 978-1-55859-041-0| last1 = Rosenak| first1 = Chuck| last2 = Rosenak| first2 = Jan| title = Museum of American Folk Art Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century American Folk Art and Artists| location = New York| date = 1998| url = https://archive.org/details/museumofamerican00rose}} * {{Cite book| publisher = Gale| isbn = 978-0-7876-0518-6| last1 = Swisher| first1 = Karen Gayton| last2 = Benally| first2 = AnCita| title = Native North American firsts| location = Detroit, Mich.; London| date = 1998| url-access = registration| url = https://archive.org/details/nativenorthameri0000swis}} * {{Cite book| publisher = McFarland & Co.| isbn = 978-0-7864-7519-3| last1 = Laffal| first1 = Florence| last2 = Laffal| first2 = Julius| title = American self-taught art: an illustrated analysis of 20th century artists and trends with 1,319 capsule biographies| location = Jefferson, N.C.| date=2013}} * {{Cite book| publisher = Mcfarland| isbn = 978-0-7864-6438-8| last = Ressler| first = Susan R| title = Women artists of the american west.| location = Jefferson| date = 2011}} * {{Cite book| publisher = Northland Pub.| isbn = 978-0-87358-612-2| last1 = Makov| first1 = Susan| last2 = Eddington| first2 = Patrick| title = Trading post guidebook: where to find the trading posts, galleries, auctions, artists, and museums of the Four Corners region| location = Flagstaff, AZ| date = 1997}} * {{Cite book| publisher = Northland Pub.| last1 = Rosenak| first1 = Chuck| last2 = Rosenak| first2 = Jan| last3 = Rosenak| first3 = Chuck| title = Navajo folk art: the people speak| location = Flagstaff, Ariz.| accessdate = 2017-03-15| date = 1998| isbn = 9780873586931| url = http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/37917277.html}} * {{Cite book| publisher = Northland Publ| isbn = 978-0-87358-430-2| last = Hartman| first = Russell P| title = Navajo pottery. Traditions and innovations| location = Flagstaff| date = 1989}} * {{Cite book| publisher = University of New Mexico Press| isbn = 978-0-8263-2715-4| last1 = Iverson| first1 = Peter| last2 = Roessel| first2 = Monty| title = Diné a history of the Navajos| location = Albuquerque [N.M.| date = 2003}} * {{cite book|last1=Hartman|first1=Russell P.|last2=Tanner|first2=Clara Lee (introduction by)|last3=Trimble|first3=Stephen (photographs by)|editor1-last=Musial|editor1-first=Jan|title=Navajo Pottery: Traditions & Innovations|date=1987|publisher=Northland Press|location=Flagstaff, AZ|isbn=978-0-873-58430-2|chapter=Chapter 6. Revitalization of Navajo Pottery and Chapter 7. Contemporary Pitch-Coated Navajo Pottery|oclc=16518200}} * {{cite book|last1=Laffal|first1=Florence|last2=Laffal|first2=Julius|title=American Self-Taught Art: An Illustrated Analysis of 20th Century Artists and Trends with 1,319 Capsule Biographies|date=2003|publisher=McFarland & Co|location=Jefferson, NC|isbn=978-0-786-41669-1|oclc=52602764}} * {{cite book|last1=Peterson|first1=Susan|title=Pottery by American Indian Women: The Legacy of Generations|date=1997|publisher=Abbeville Press|location=New York, NY|isbn=978-0-789-20353-3|pages=166–167|oclc=36648903|type=Exhibition catalog}} – Published in conjunction with an exhibition held at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C., Oct. 9, 1997-Jan. 11, 1998 and at the Heard Museum, Phoenix, Feb. 18-Apr. 18, 1998 * {{cite journal|last1=Wright|first1=H. Diane|last2=Bell|first2=Jan|title=Potters and their work|journal=Plateau|date=1987|volume=58|issue=2|pages=24–31|publisher=Museum of Northern Arizona|location=Flagstaff, AZ|oclc=15686775}} * {{cite journal|last1=Wright|first1=H. Diane|title=Navajo Pottery: Contemporary Trends in a Traditional Craft|journal=American Indian Art|date=1987|volume=12|issue=2|pages=26–35}} * {{cite journal|title=Alice Cling|journal=The Clarion|date=1988|volume=13|pages=36–37|publisher=Museum of American Folk Art|location=New York, NY|issn=0197-6850|oclc=4279936}}

== External links == * [https://www.cla.purdue.edu/waaw/Peterson/Cling.html Alice Cling] at Women Artists of the American West, Purdue University * [http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artist/?id=7459 Alice Cling] at Smithsonian American Art Museum

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cling, Alice}} Category:1946 births Category:Living people Category:Navajo artists Category:Native American potters Category:American potters Category:Native American women potters Category:People from Coconino County, Arizona Category:American women potters Category:21st-century American ceramists Category:20th-century American ceramists Category:20th-century Native American artists Category:21st-century Native American artists Category:20th-century Native American women artists Category:21st-century Native American women artists Category:Navajo women artists Category:Ceramists from Arizona