WOW!  THis is an exceptional jar by Autumn Borts-Medlock.  She is known for her often fancifully carved pottery.  This piece is entitled, “After the Storm”.  It is a large, fully carved sculptural jar.  There are swirling clouds along with stone polished birds. The birds are flying across the surface.  Each bird is stone polished and the clouds are stippled, matte, and micaceous.  Take a closer look and note the various levels and depths of carving on this piece.  It is amazing what she is able to create with clay..and time…and patience!   The piece was traditionally fired black with a glassy appearance to the polished surfaces.  Autumn said she wanted to use the clay to give the birds a sense of motion with the contrasting movement of the carved clouds.  The jar 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.”