This is a phenomenal jar by Tammy Garcia.  The jar has a round shape and a short neck.  The piece is fully designed. There is a flute player on one side and a corn plant opposite.   Below the flute player are plants that are polished a pink coloration. As the jar is turned, there are flowers of various sizes on the piece.  Note the levels of carving for the larger flowers.  There are 14 flowers, each with four polished petals, for a total of 56 sections.  Opposite the flute player is a corn plant. The corn is polished tan with sixteen sections along with a red polished jar at the bottom.  The remaining background area is stippled.  Stippling is a process by which the clay surface is punctured over and over to create a texture.  It is a striking contrast to the polished and matte surfaces.  The jar is a complex combination of designs, textures, and imagery.  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.  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:

Do you think the idea of “Layers” applies to both your life and art? “We hear the terms “layers” and think about levels and a progression of one idea on top of another.  I love to have options.  To me the “layers” are options.  It’s about quality.  Native clay takes effort to dig and refine and temper. There are layers in just making the clay pure enough to coil a vessel.  Because of that, with the little clay I have, my mindset has been quality, not quantity.  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 the 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. “

“The stippling (little dots) on my pottery takes patience.  It’s time-consuming and technical to make one dot at a time.  I must wrap my fingers with cloth because the pressure of the metal on my hands begins to hurt.  I can spend several days just stippling a single pot.”