Borts-Medlock, Autumn – “Flutter and Flowers” Sculptural “Cloud Jar”

7"w x 8"h x 4"w

$ 7,000.00

WOW!  THis is an exceptional jar by Autumn Borts-Medlock.  She is known for her often fancifully carved pottery.  This piece is entitled, Flutter and Flowers”.  Over the past several years Autumn has been working to create sculptural pieces using native clay. While still a “vessel” and coil built, they have angles and shapes that speak to an organic form, like the movement of clouds.  This is why she calls them “cloud jars”.  This jar has designs on every angle!  There are carved and polished butterflies, along with flowers.  The surrounding area of the clouds is shaped and carved and textured.  The red areas are stone polished and have white clay matte areas.  There are also areas highlighted with blue clay as if the sky is just visible through the clouds.  It is amazing how she is able to create pieces with dimensionality and flow of design.  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.”