Ada Suina is a distinguished artist from Cochiti Pueblo, celebrated for her mastery in creating storyteller pottery figurines and nacimientos (nativity scenes). Widely recognized as one of the foremost figurine potters of Cochiti, her reputation is both well-earned and enduring. Suina’s storyteller figures are especially admired for their robust, chiseled faces and joyful expressions—hallmarks of her artistic style that reflect both tradition and individuality.

As children Ada Cordero Suina and her sister Snowflake Flower would help their grandmother Estephanita Herrera, a noted Cochiti potter, by gathering fuel for firing. It wasn’t until she was 40 that she learned how to mix clay by her cousin Virginia Arquero. Ada made her first storyteller in 1977. Her figures have full, prominent cheeks. She also added a fourth color to the usual black, terra-cotta, and cream.