This is a clay figure by Anita Fields.  The figure is coil built and slipped with various clays.  The figures are meant to stand or to be hung on a wall. Each figure is painted with different designs. This figure has the navel as the center with lines and “stars” extending outward.  The back is meant to represent the earth, looking up into the cosmos.  Anita said of her figures piece:

“My clay female figures are a culmination of all my clay work. The tell different parts of the Osage story. I often use textiles as well as clays for the bodies.  The “clothing” convey my attitudes toward the strength of women and how native peoples show remarkable resourcefulness and adaptability toward their environment. The clothing Indian women created shows great pride, dignity, and hope in a culture facing insurmountable odds.

This figure has amazing detail in the dragonflies.  It is signed on the back, “Anita Fields”  

“I have a choice…There is a time for each of us to step up and be apart of the culture.”  Anita recognizes there is a powerful connection that is made for her through cultural teachings.  [Her] hand formed ceramic works led to references found in the Osage genesis narratives.”  Anita Fields, Fluent Generations