Juan Cruz is creating some beautifully 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 bowl has a scene with a story of Coyote and the stars.  He writes of this piece:

“The White Star sisters were tasked with the arrangement of thestars, ensuring their orderly placement.  When Coyote saw the sisters, who were so meticulous in their star weaving work, he couldn’t help but think how much faster he could accomplish the task.  With only thoughts of a reward for his ingenuitiy, he snatched the star lines and in doing so unraveled the sisters weaving, scattering the stars acrosst he sky.”

The bowl is truly polychrome (more than three colors of clay).  Note the intricacy of the painted designs and especially the figures.  It is striking how he has not only depicted the sisters “weaving’ the stars but especially how he has depicted Coyote unraveling them!  The use of the negative space of the background white clay slip (which is first applied), creates the stars and the highlights on Coyote.  This is both a wonderful bowl with a wonderful depiction!  The bowl has been traditionally fired outdoor and overall is a striking coloration.  It is signed on the indented bottom of the jar by both Juan and Lois.  The description is written on the back of a hand-painted graphic of one of the Star sisters and Coyote.  What a phenomenal addition to this piece and the painting helps to better understand how exceptional Juan is with his art.  While Juan has been painting the pottery for only a few years, he most recently won “Best of Pottery” at Gallup Ceremonials in 2017!