Carmelita Dunlap was the niece of Maria Martinez, who is considered the institution of San Ildefonso pottery. Carmelita was born in 1925 and learned pottery making by watching her aunts Maria and Desideria Montoya. Carmelita's mother passed away when she was very young and Maria and Desideria raised her from then on. Carmelita was considered the last living protégé of Maria until her death in 2000.

Carmelita was designated a National Treasure during the Nixon administration. She won Indian Market first place twenty times which is still to date unprecedented. Cynthia Starflower, Carmelita's daughter, since her mother’s death is second in line to Maria Martinez. She brought back the "Sunrise" brown pottery seven years ago after her brother Carlos passed away. She is also one of the last Grandmaster potters currently working in San Ildefonso Pueblo. Her sister Linda Dunlap is a master potter with beautiful burnish work and is third in line to Maria.

San Ildefonso Pueblo is known for its beautiful, highly polished pottery. San Ildefonso pottery is formed and finished by hand. Work such as coiling, molding and sanding are very important to the way the pot will look when finished. The designs are then carefully painted on the polished surface, using a mixture of clay and water, which is called a slip. The work is then fired in an outdoor open-air fire pit using wood and manure as fuel.