Duwyenie, Preston – Red Shifting Bowl with Coral Inset

9.75"w x 3.5"h

$ 1,400.00

This is an exceptional shifting sand bowl by Preston Duwyenie.  It is made from red Hopi clay found near Third Mesa at Hopi.  The bottom of the bowl and the rim are stone polished.  The central band is etched with a shifting sand design.  What makes the sand area so fascinating is how he carves it so that it has a very natural appearance.  It flows around the entire surface, just as if the clay has been swept away. The top view of the piece shows the design nicely and the shadows the design creates.  The coral is part of what makes this piece so special.  It reflects on the story tells about why he began making the shifting sand designs on his pottery:

Why the shifting sand designs? Preston says he remembers watching a smooth pebble caught in sand being shifted by the wind, “there was beauty in its isolation within the sea of sand. It was like an island.  The endless sands of time, and the fact that people, too are tossed about by the wind. There is always rippling in our lives”.

The coral represents the pebble he found which was in the sand!  The coloration of the clay and coral are a perfect match! The piece is signed on the bottom in the clay with Preston’s hallmark which is a woman carrying a child.  Preston is from Second Mesa at Hopi and taught ceramics for years at the Institute of American Indian Art (IAIA) in Santa Fe.