This is a striking and complex new jar by Tammy Garcia.  The piece has a water jar shape with a round body and elongated neck. The jar is entitled, “After the Firing”.  One side has a woman reclining on a rug that is carved and polished.  Note she is wearing her manta, which is carved at various levels.  Behind her is a large jar with carved parrots. There is another large jar by her feet with another large parrot carved into the clay.  The scene is enclosed in a “frame”, which Tammy often uses on her pottery, and they are amazing with details carved in each level!  As the jar is turned, there are carved flowers, each with four polished petals.  The back of the jar has a large panel with a single large flower.  The panel has her framed out line and note the use of various colors of clay to create red petals and the tan leaves.   On either side of the panel are two large parrots. They are carved in multiple layers and then polished red and tan. The amount of carved sections on this jar is amazing!   As well, the flow of the story she has created, along with all the colors.  Polished and matte surfaces create a visual flow for the eye as they draw you across the surface of the piece.  The matte background of the jar is smooth, and the carved areas create her signature “pillow” effect.  The jar is elegant in form, creative in design, and precise in carving and polishing.  It is amazing in person!  Tammy has won numerous awards for her pottery and has been the recipient of the New Mexico Governor’s award.  It’s not surprising that with the intricate nature of her pottery, she makes only about ten pieces of pottery a year.  Yes. Ten!  Yet each piece is unique and expands on her distinctive style and voice in the clay.  The jar is signed on the bottom in the clay.

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Garcia, Tammy (b. 1969)

Tammy Garcia

Tammy Garcia is undoubtedly one of the most renowned Pueblo potters.  She is the daughter of Linda Cain and sister to Autumn Borts-Medlock.  She is also Mary Cain's granddaughter, Christina Naranjo's great-granddaughter, and Sara Fina Tafoya's great-great-granddaughter.  Tammy learned to make pottery from her mother and continued the Pueblo traditions of using native clay as the foundation.  Her distinctive pottery bridges the gap between traditional and modern.  The intricacy and precision of her carving are attractions to her pottery and bronze art.  Tammy's pottery continues to evolve in new directions with each new idea. Amazingly, Tammy Garcia makes less than ten pieces a year.  This small number is a reflection of the time involved in each section.  The building, designing, carving, polishing, and firing are labor-intensive.  As a result of the time required, she never replicates a design or pot, which is part of her art's dynamic process. Tammy Garcia's distinctive forms and imagery create "stories" on the vessels.  Her designs are inspired by Pueblo's life, animals, insects, and pueblo stories, and traditional images are both traditional and contemporary.  Her work's surface is polished and carved, and there is always an outstanding balance of carved versus matte areas. Tammy's pottery is in permanent collections and museums worldwide, such as the Denver Art Museum, the Heard Museum, and the Autry Museum.  She has won multiple awards for pottery and, most recently, was the subject of a one-woman exhibit at the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

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