This is an elegant bowl by Nancy Youngblood. This shape is a classic form with a round body and is carved with very deep ribs which begin at the neck and extend down to the base. What makes the shape work is is the ribs seem to fold around the piece so that the shape remains visible but there is an unexpected fluidity and movement.  This is the difficulty but the strength of this piece is that it remains in perfect balance.  There are sixteen ribs that encircle the piece.  They are carved into the clay and then each is stone polished.  Consider that each rib has two “sides” to be polished and the surface area of the piece is about double its size!   Nancy said of the “slant swirl” style of her pottery:

“My slant swirl starts on the left and goes halfway around the pot. Half of the slant goes to the center part of the pot, and the other half goes to the other half of the pot. If you divide it up, this whole swirl will go halfway around the piece. I’d never seen anybody do a slant like that before. There’s a formula to doing it. It’s hard to explain how I do it, unless you see it. If you get distracted and you just move that line over just a little, it throws your whole design off. It can’t be even a fraction off.”  Nancy Youngblood, Spoken Through Clay

It is easy to see how the precision of the symmetry of each rib creates a striking reflection of the light across the surface!  The bowl has one of her “flame” lids.  Here she has used the ribs to create a flame-like appearance.  Each side has seven very thinly carved melon ribs.  Again, each is stone polished.  The contrast of the slant ribs with the small flame ribs on the lid are striking. The lid fits perfectly into the rim of the jar.  Nancy has won numerous awards for her melon bowls including Best of Pottery several times at Santa Fe Indian Market, along with Best of Show.  The bowl is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Nancy Youngblood”.

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