Susan Folwell is one of the exciting innovators in Pueblo pottery.  This jar is part of her series for, “Taos Light: Maidens to Mantas”.  The focus is on Susan re-interpreting the work of the Taos Society of Artists. This jar is inspired by the painting “Water-Grass” by Bert Phillips.  Davison Koening, the Director of the E.I. Couse Foundation in Taos, NM noted that the early paintings by many of the Taos artists were ethnographic in orientation.  As a result, the title, such as “Water-Grass”, would often simply be the name of the subject in the painting.  Susan says of this piece:

“On this piece, I had created the open bowl and then I saw the Phillips portrait of “Water-Grass”.   As with much of my recent work, I wanted to be able to honor and reflect on the women in these paintings by the Taos Artists.  This image was perfect for the shape, as it almost felt as if I was painting a cameo in a shell.  There was an unexpected intimacy in the hand-held size of the open bowl and the detail for her clothing and jewelry.  I painted the intricately etched detail on her jewlery to have it own lumininescence.  The bowl itself is like a shell that could be held.  The back is textured and painted to look like a turtle shell.   I put her name, “Water-Grass” on the front to honor her and the endurance of Native women.”

The open bowl is painted in the center with the portrait of “Water-Grass”.  Scan in close and you can see how Susan has incised the hair and necklace, so there is an intricacy in the technique and design which is unexpected. The space around the figure reveals the coloration of the clay.  The back is almost the “surprise” as it is highly textured and the coloration is to have the feel of a turtle shell.  It is signed on the back.