This is a complex jar by Tammy Garcia.  The jar is carved on numerous levels with contrasting polished and matte surfaces. The jar is round in shape with a fluted or “flower” rim. The entire piece is fully designed!  There are three Heartline Deer on the piece.  One is larger and two are smaller.  The deer are delicately carved into the clay, even their antlers!  They are slipped matte red.  Surrounding them, the jar is carved on numerous levels.  There are eleven flowers carved into the clay and each is fully polished.  Each flower has four petals, each polished red and a center circle polished tan.  Amazingly, that is 55 different sections, each individually stone polished!  The larger deer is around a larger series of flowers, and the leaves of the flowers are also stone polished.  As the jar is turned, you can see the various levels   Note the stippling surrounding the designs.  The 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 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:

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.”