Alvin Curran was possibly the most refined and sophisticated Ohkay Owingeh-style potter of his generation. He was married to Dolores Curran, and his daughter is Ursula Curran, both of whom continue to make pottery.  Alvin took the traditional style of incised San Juan polychrome pottery and refined his carving and painted designs.  Each piece is fully carved, and then red and white clay slips are added to create the color.  Amazingly, each year at events such as Santa Fe Indian Market, he would enter his pottery in the “carved” categories and win against much more deeply carved and fully polished traditional Santa Clara pottery.  It was a reflection of the precision of his work. This is a more complicated piece of his pottery.  It is stone polished red on the rim and the base.  In the center, the jar is incised with mountain and cloud patterns.  The designs are incised into the clay and then painted with clay slips for coloration.  Take a closer look at the incised lines; some are painted red, some white.  That is always a striking small detail of his that added more time and complexity to his pottery.  The designs are precision cut into the clay before the traditional outdoor firing.  It is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Alvin Curran”.  It is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration, or repair.