This is an intricately carved jar by Autumn Borts-Medlock.  She is known for her often fancifully carved pottery.  This piece is entitled “Spring Blossoms”.  It is a round jar with a short neck.  There are two sections with bees and flowers.  The bees have tan polished wings and legs.  Next to them are flowers that are polished mauve in coloration.  The flowers are both matte and polished.  The green leaves and vines around the flowers are a green clay slip.  Note the number of levels in the carving of the bees, flowers, and background areas!  The bees and flowers are surrounded by swirling clouds. The flow and free-form designs on the jar are wonderfully carved, polished, and slipped by Autumn.  Note how the clouds are carved at various levels!  Autumn used a micaceous black/gray clay slip for the background area where it is carved away. The coloration almost looks like the sky seen through the clouds!  Autumn said she wanted to use the clay to give them a sense of motion in both colors and in her carving.  The bowl 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.”