Juan Cruz creates complex painted polychrome pottery.  He is a son of noted potter Lois Gutierrez.  Lois made the jar and Juan, who is noted for his illustrations, painted the design using natural clay slips.  This water jar has an elongated neck and intricately painted figures.  Juan wrote of the scene he painted as follows:

“This piece depicts the sun watcher keeping to his daily task of marking the position of the sun; anticipating the arrival of the solstice.  The graduated feathers around the sun face represent this cycle of ever growing and shortening of the days.”

The jar is truly polychrome (more than three colors of clay).  Note the intricacy of the painted designs and the flow of imagery across the piece.  The figure is watching the sun which then casts its light across a circular petroglyph.  The traditional sun design is stunning in design and coloration!  The description is written on the back of a hand-painted graphic of the four directions.  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 in 2018.