This is a classic and colorful water jar by Autumn Borts-Medlock.  She is known for her often fancifully carved pottery.  This piece is entitled, “Morning Messengers”.  It is tall cannister shaped jar.  The jar has two large dragonflies and two large flowers.  Autumn said she wanted to create the idea that in the morning mist you could see the dragonflies and flowers opening.  The dragonflies are deeply carved and fully polished both red and green.  They are accented with additional red and green clay slips.  Check out the TINY carved triangles in the dragonfly tails!  THe flowers are also carved on multiple levels with polished red and matte green areas.  Swirling around the remainder of the jar are carved clouds and lightning designs.  The piece is carved on at least 5 levels!  Simply amazing!  The matte clouds contrast perfectly with the polished surfaces and the colorful clay slips.  Autumn said she wanted to use the clay to give them a sense of motion in both colors and in her carving.  The kar is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Autumn Borts-Medlock”.

“These pieces were inspired by watching the clouds at Puye Cliffs (the ancestral home of the Santa Clara people) and at the Pueblo. I wanted to carve into the clay to create multiple layers on each piece.  More importantly, I wanted to create a sense of movement.  I did this through both colorations of the clouds and layers of carving. The cloud colorations combine several colors of clay and are meant to appear as if they are moving and you can see through them.  The birds are captured in flight, amongst the clouds and the cliffs.”