Stephanie Tafoya is a great-granddaughter of Margaret Tafoya, a granddaughter of Lee Tafoya, and the daughter of Mel Tafoya. She has learned to make pottery from her aunt, Linda Tafoya-Sanchez and is currently working on perfecting her techniques with Nathan Youngblood.  Each piece is coil-built, carved, stone polished, and traditionally fired.  This is a classic water jar that is entitled, “Lace”.  The name comes from how the feathers seem to flow down the jar as if it was draped in lace!  It is carved with a series of 80 feathers!  The feather design was inspired by her pet parrot Beto (see last photo). There are five rows of carved feathers with a total of 80 individual feathers.  They are each incised or polished before firing to create the surface variations.  The contrast of the polished and matte/incised feathers is striking on this piece and draws the eye across the surface. Her name in Tewa is “Khung Be”, which means Holly Berry. This is a hallmark she also puts on her pottery.