This is a creative installation set by Susan Folwell.  She is one of the exciting innovators in Pueblo pottery.  This piece is part of her series, “Taos Light: Pueblo Perspectives”.  Beginning in 2017, Susan Folwell began a series of clay pieces inspired by and re-interpreting the Taos Society of Artists’ work from 1915-27.  The concept of the piece comes from a painting by Hennings.  The piece has a large clay flask which is square in shape.  It is fully painted. It is meant to be placed on the wood branch and there are four additional “tiles” which are part of the set.  The idea is as if the flask was opened and the water spilled out and the rest of the surrounding imagery is reflected:  the donkeys, the fields, water, and the pipe.  The piece was on display at the Harwood Museum in Taos (see last photo).  Susan says of this piece:

“What attracted me to this painting was the striking look of the twins.  They were the Baumgartner brothers who relocated to Taos.  I appreciated the painting captured the essence of the time they lived.  I wanted to do a flask as the shape to accentuate the landscape.  The first piece I made using their image is now in the permanent collection of the Eiteljorg Museum.  I wanted to make a second piece, with a very square-shaped flask.  It’s as if the water has spilled out and the reflections are seen in the clay (water).  Creating a group with so many pieces makes it impactful and kinetic.”

This large jar is fully painted. The entire set works together with a strong visual dynamic in the painted designs.  The pieces are signed on the bottom, “Susan Folwell”.

Susan Folwell: Taos Light / Pueblo Perspectives