The pottery of Loren Ami is inspired by traditional Hopi designs and forms. Each piece is coil-built, stone polished, painted with native clays (red) and bee-weed (black), and outdoor fired.  This jar is one of his classic shapes with a wide, round shoulder and a short neck. The jar has a “Hummingbird in Flight” design.  The head of each of the hummingbirds (there are two) is turned downward. The tails are slipped in red and extend toward the shoulder.  Note the complexity of the design in the hatchure line work!  The jar is traditionally fired to create the blushes on the surface.  It is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Loren Ami”.  There is a spider as his hallmark, as he is Spider Clan.  It is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration or repair.

In my family, there wasn’t anyone close who made pottery. Further back, my mom’s great-great-grandmother was Sadie Adams, and there was Sadie’s daughter Alice Adams. They both made pottery.  There are two clans we come from. They’re the Blue Spruce and the Spider Clan. So, we are the Stick and Spider Clans. I stay with the Spider, and I sign with a spider and my name.  I learned to make pottery from Dextra. One day she just tossed me a ball of clay and said, “Make something.” I just started making little bowls and figurines. After that, I would watch her when she was at the pottery house at First Mesa. She would show me how to make pottery. My first piece was a vase, and it didn’t make it. I learned from that, and she showed me how to stretch the clay and use your hands to pull the clay. I learned how to coil the clay to make the pieces and began making basic bowl shapes.