 Beam abandoned pottery as an art form but only temporarily.Years later in 1980 while living in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Beam again became interested in handmade pottery via his exposure to Santa Clara pottery and Mimbres bowls as were made by the Anasazi who lived in the area centuries before.In the words of Ann Beam, "It was the Santa Clara blackwares that got us first"  Beam became excited with the adventurous and bold designs he observed in these works.