Juan Cruz creates complex painted polychrome pottery.  He is a son of noted potter Lois Gutierrez.  Lois made the plate and Juan, who is noted for his illustrations, painted the design using natural clay slips.  This is the first time Juan has painted on a plate, giving him a large canvas surface.  The plate is the story of the sun and moon.  Juan wrote of the scene he painted as follows:

“The cycle of Brother Sun and Sister Moon, revolving in an eternal circle.  The sun giving light while the moon give cooling relief in her pale light.  The geometrics of the design on the plate represent the eagle’s association with the sun.  For the Moon’s design, I drew inspiration from a Mimbres design of a rabbit forming in the shadow of a crescent moon.”

The plate is truly polychrome (more than three colors of clay).  Note the intricacy of the painted designs and especially the figures.  They are each distinctive instance or dress.  He has captured a beautiful balance of the designs as the sun swirls into the moon.  The crescent moon and the rabbit are opposite the Tewa sun and the eagle.  Exceptional!  The back of the plate is fully polished red. The description is written on the back of a hand-painted graphic of a Brother Sun and Sister Moon.  What a phenomenal addition to this piece and the painting helps to better understand how exceptional Juan is with his art.   While Juan is new to the pottery world, he recently won “Best of Pottery” at Gallup Ceremonials in 2017 and has been featured in articles in Cowboys & Indians Magazine and Native Art Magazine.