WOW!  This is an extraordinary large plate by Blue Corn.  She is often best known for her polychrome pottery and her creative use of various clay slips on her pottery. She learned to make pottery from Maria Martinez at San Ildefonso.  This is one of her larger polychrome plates and one that carved.  Blue Corn’s style of carving is similar to that of other San Ildefonso potters, with a “cameo style” of lighter relief.  There is a carved avanyu encircling the plate.  It is polished a cream color and outlined with a black clay slip.  In the center are Mimbres-inspired insects, painted as if they are in a pond surrounded by the avanyu.  They are painted with native clay on a polished surface.  Each of them is different.  The plate has five different colors of clay used to create the designs.  The area surrounding the avanyu is a matte peach color.  The piece is striking in size and complexity of the design.  It is signed on the back in the clay “Blue Corn, San Ildefonso”.  It is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration, or repair.  The original owner purchased it directly from Blue Corn in the 1970s.