Jody Folwell is known for her creative pottery shapes and designs.  This jar is one of her classic shapes with a round shoulder and an asymmetric rim.  The entire surface is highly stone-polished.  The jar is etched with a lightning pattern that encircles the piece. The imagery is etched into the clay at various depths.  The matte red areas are where the clay was lightly etched away. The jar was traditionally fired. The black on the rim and shoulder is from cow manure placed on the piece at the end of the firing.  The manure creates dark coloration on the rim and speckling on the side.  It is signed on the bottom, “Jody”.   It is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration or repair.

“For the asymmetrical shape, I early on thought about how everything was so symmetrical in the Indian world. How far can I go to make a change?  It was a little tiny change of not having everything so symmetrical. Once that became a part of Pueblo tradition, I went on to something else. With the half-polished areas, again, being very observant of other cultures and their artwork. I had seen a bamboo pottery show where only part of the vessel was polished. I called these the Japanese Volcanic pieces.”  Jody Folwell, Spoken Through Clay