This new jar by Tammy Garcia is creative in design.  The jar is entitled, “Enduring Legacy”.  Tammy says that she made this piece to honor her grandmother, Mary Cain.  Mary was inspirational to Tammy, always encouraging her to make pottery and follow her own path.  Here, Tammy has carved a Pueblo girl holding a double shoulder water jar with a bear paw carved into the clay.  The water jar is not just symbolic of the vessels created at Santa Clara Pueblo, but also the importance of water in Pueblo culture.  The jar is polished and the girl has areas that are both matte and polished.  The frame surrounding her has echinacea flowers, which Tammy says grew around her grandmother’s home and are always part of her family memories.  As the jar is turned there is a large bear fetish.  The bear has polished bands on its back along with small polished flowers and a polished heartline.  There are more sections with polished flowers. More importantly, the sections focus on the increasing number of layers Tammy is carving into the clay.  Each section combines carved, polished, stippled, and matte surfaces!  Amazingly, there are up to FIVE layers in this jar.  It is extraordinary how Tammy continues her family legacy in clay and continues to honor the traditions passed down from Sarafina Tafoya to Christina Naranjo to Mary Cain to Linda Cain to her!  Maybe it is simply the five layers she is carving are reflecting the five generations of knowledge going into her work.  Thoughtful and Stunning!  The jar is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Tammy Garcia”.  Tammy has won numerous awards for her pottery and 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.  Yet each piece is unique and expands on her distinctive style and voice in the clay.  Tammy says of her new evolving art in clay:

 “My love for jewelry also reveals itself in the clay.  I want to make each piece I make precious, jewel-like. My new “pillow effect” is really tapering.  It’s achieved in the carving process.  I do it so that the area surrounding the carved designs is higher and the edges are recessed.  It makes the carving more delicate but also less fragile.   I love detail.  When I’m carving a piece the smaller the carved line the more fragile.  Each layer is a fragile, delicate balance of one design on top of another. I want to be able to get more detail and create the optical illusion of even more layers from a distance.  I’ve been working to create even more detail in my work than ever before. “