This is a larger new jar by Jennifer Tafoya.  The jar is coil-built and fully polished.  Interestingly, it is both carved and etched.  The clouds are more deeply carved into the clay and have more texture to them. The top of the jar has three Crested Caracara etched into the clay.  The detail in the heads, wings, and feathers on each bird is exceptional!  What is a Crested Caracara?

“The Crested Caracara looks like a hawk with its sharp beak and talons, behaves like a vulture, and is technically a large tropical black-and-white falcon. It is instantly recognizable, standing tall on long yellow-orange legs with a sharp black cap set against a white neck and yellow-orange face.  It flies low on flat wings, and routinely walks on the ground.”

Below the birds are a variety of cacti. They are either carved or etched into the clay.  The Cholla are amazingly realistic, and the barrel cactus are more deeply carved creating texture.  After all the designs are etched into the clay, Jennifer uses a variety of clay slips to paint the piece and create the colorations.  The detail here is amazing. The piece is signed, “Jennifer Tafoya”.  Jennifer continues to be one of the leading innovative potters working today and the winner of “Best of Show” at Santa Fe Indian Market in 2023.

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