This is a unique piece by Chase Kawinhut Earles.  This is part of his series focused on Indigenous Futurism as a means to better understand Caddo culture and pottery.   Chase wrote of this piece:

It is titled, “In Memory of Crisita Romero” , short version: My Grandfather and my great Uncle General Scott Tonemah (Grandson of Stumbling Bear) would visit Taos and made a lifelong family friend, Crisita Romero. They made friends because Scott being Kiowa could speak Crisita’s language (Tiwa). She lived at Taos and became close to our family. We would visit her every year and we always remember her specific door, which I reproduced faithfully.  She would always be selling us things each time we came whether pottery or art or weaving or food, cookies, breads. Reminds me of the lil jawas with a moving pueblo taking their wares from door to door.

The piece is made with traditional clay and pit-fired. Cedar and faux tendon ladder. Painted Wood door and window with window screen.

It is signed on the bottom “Kawinhut”.  The name “Kawinhut” is important, as the last Caddo potter, Winhut, passed away in 1908 and Chase is continuing in her tradition of working with the clay and so his name is the masculine derivation of this family name.

The Caddo were a tribal group throughout the Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisianna areas.  Chase draws inspiration from the ancient Caddo pieces and yet they are not replicas.  The connection in the ancient work is in the clay, firing, and shapes.  He is primarily self-taught both as a potter and in his research of the Caddo ceramic past.  He has sought out the clay sources and each piece is coil built.  They are then slipped with a clay and mussel shell mixture and then burnished three times.  The result is a shiny surface with flecks of shell reflecting light.  Each piece is then pit fired which not only hardens the clay but gives them fire clouds and color variations on the surface. After they are fired Chase etches into the surface of the clay to create intricate designs.  The delicate designs are almost a surprise considering the hardness of the clay after the firing.

“I am working to both preserve and expand the cultural identity of the Caddo people through the revival of their pottery.”  Chase Kawinhut Earles