Born in 1978, Ron Martinez (Looking Elk) has been making traditional pottery since the early 1990s. He mostly makes sienna jars, bowls, plates, figures and sculptures, and decorates them generally with sgraffito designs. He also does paintings.
Ron is a graduate of the Institute for American Indian Arts. He began participating at the Santa Fe Indian Market while he was still in high school. His favorite designs to decorate with include handprints, clouds, lightning bolts, human figures and ancient rock art.
Ron won the Harvey W. Braniger Jr. Native American Internship at the School for American Research in 1997-98. In 2000 he won the Challenge Award for Non-Traditional Pottery at the Santa Fe Indian Market. In 2002, he was a participant in the Jewels of the Southwest Exhibit at the Arizona Historical Society Museum in Tempe, AZ. From November 21, 2006, to February 12, 2007, he was the subject of a one-man show at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque, NM. He has also been a participant in the Eight Northern Indian Pueblos Arts & Crafts Show at Ohkay Owingeh.