This is a striking red swirl melon bowl by Tammy Garcia.  It was made in 1998. The piece is coil built and there are 16 swirling melon ribs as the design. The entire piece is fully polished and it is fired a deep red coloration.  On a piece like this, each of the ribs is carved into the clay. The entire piece is then fully polished at one time.  Tammy said this is one of the only swirling melon pieces she made that was fully polished and that later, she would leave a matte band between each rib.  Polishing the piece at one time was difficult, and yet, the result is quite striking.  When I asked her about the piece, she did say “I won’t make them anymore!”, making it a unique piece of her clay art.  The bowl is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Tammy Garcia”.   It is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration, or repair.  It is exciting to see such creativity throughout her career.