Duwyenie, Debra & Preston – Tile with 10 Turtles
$ 750.00
Debra Duwyenie is well known for her wonderful miniatures and incised designs. Each piece is stone polished and then it is etched before it is fired! This tile is flat with ten turtles. Each of them has a different design on its back. Usually, Debra etches one of the turtles to have a “shifting sand” design to represent her husband, Preston Duwyenie. That one can be seen in the corner. Surrounding the turtles are lots of dragonflies along with a lizard. The edge of the tile has a water serpent encircling the piece and a rain cloud in the corner. Note that the lighter red matte areas are where Debra has only etched away the polished surface but not down as far as the tan color of the clay. Debra also pays close attention to the little details like the tan background area and how evenly she etches the vertical lines. The back of the tile is also fully polished. The piece is signed on the back by both artists.
Out of stock



Debra Duwyenie
Debra is renowned for her highly polished incised pottery. At times she also works on pieces with her husband, noted potter Preston Duwyenie. He makes the piece of pottery on these pieces, and she does the polishing and incised designs. Debra is a granddaughter of Petra Gutierrez and the niece of noted potters Gloria Garcia (Goldenrod) & Lois Gutierrez. Debra also made pieces with Harvey Chavarria (1943-1991), which were signed "Debra + Harvey." Significantly, Debra does all of her sgraffito work into the clay before they are fired, which adds to the difficulty of her work. Debra has won numerous awards for pottery at events such as Santa Fe Indian Market. Debra Duwyenie uses hand-coil, stone polish, paint, open fire, and hand sgraffito designs. We are pleased to carry a selection of her work at our Scottsdale and Santa Fe locations.
Preston Duwyenie is from Hotevilla, Third Mesa, at Hopi. He is renowned for his elegant pottery, often highlighted with silver medallions. He taught ceramics for years at the Institute of American Indian Art (IAIA) in Santa Fe. He is married to Santa Clara potter Debra Duwyenie and now resides in Santa Clara Pueblo. Preston has won numerous pottery awards, including "Best of Show" at the Heard Indian Market.