Youngblood, Nathan – Tri-Color Jar with Carved Avanyu
$ 4,400.00
This is a classic tri-color jar by Nathan Youngblood. The piece is fully carved, highly polished, and traditionally fired. The jar has a round shoulder and short neck. The rim and base are fully polished tan. The center is carved with an avanyu that is highly polished red. The avanyu is complex in design with clouds, rain, and lightning patterns. On a technical note, there is a continuous precision and depth to the carving in his pottery. The deep red clay slip is high in iron oxide and fires a deep red. There is a rectangular area that is matte and incised with rain designs. The contrast of the polished red with the polished tan and matte is stunning! The piece was traditionally fired, and on Nathan’s red pieces, after they are fired, he uses screwdrivers to scrape the background area and the side of the carving. This can take almost as much time as the carving or polishing itself! Amazing the amount of time that goes into each vessel and yet how stunning they appear! It is signed on the bottom in the clay with his name and hallmarked name in Tewa, which means “Deer Path”. It is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration, or repair.
Out of stock
This is a classic wide bowl by Nathan Youngblood. The piece is fully carved, highly polished, and traditionally fired. The bowl is wide in shape. The rim and base are fully polished tan. The center is carved with an avanyu and highly polished red. The avanyu is complex in design with clouds, rain, and lightning patterns. On a technical note, there is a continuous precision and depth to the carving in his pottery. The deep red clay slip is high in iron oxide and fires a deep red. The contrast of the polished red with the polished tan and matte is stunning! The piece was traditionally fired, and on Nathan’s red pieces, after they are fired, he uses screwdrivers to scrape the background area and the side of the carving. This can take almost as much time as the carving or polishing itself! Amazing the amount of time that goes into each vessel and yet how stunning they appear! It is signed on the bottom in the clay with his name and hallmarked name in Tewa, which means “Deer Path”.
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Youngblood, Nathan (b. 1954)
Nathan Youngblood
Nathan Youngblood is the grandson of noted potter Margaret Tafoya and the son of Mela Youngblood; Nathan has a traditional legacy of highly polished, deep, carved pottery. In 1976, he moved in with his grandparents and began an intense apprenticeship making pottery under their guidance. Attention to the small details was also imparted to him by his mother and grandmother. His work's precision is particularly evident in his forms, which have near geometric perfection in shape and symmetry. Nathan says, "I realize I don't make pots; I'm just involved in the process. The clay does what it wants and goes where it wants to go. I stick my hands in the clay, and where it goes, I follow."
Nathan Youngblood's clay art has evolved dramatically throughout his career. His early work focused on classic Santa Clara shapes and designs. In the early 1990s, Nathan re-examined his experiences with art worldwide and how it could be incorporated as part of his designs. His love of Asian ceramics influenced how he designed his pottery and utilized matte and polished surfaces to emphasize form. As a result, the designs seemed more complicated, less linear, and more ethereal in concept. As a result, he "opened the door for other potters to use clay as a vehicle for their personal and cultural experiences."
Over the years, Nathan has won over 140 awards for his pottery. He is one of only a handful of Santa Clara potters who use natural clay slips to create color contrasts of red and tan in his pottery. This combination of polished red and tan sections with matte or micaceous surfaces has become the new Santa Clara "polychrome." Throughout his career, he has continually built on the lessons learned from his mother and grandmother. This legacy has created a solid foundation for the evolution of his pottery, and "he has set the bar high for any potter to balance creativity, innovation, and technical expertise.