This is a lidded water jar by Tammy Garcia.  The jar is carved on numerous levels with contrasting polished and matte surfaces.  The piece is entitled, “Singing Water, Wild Roses”.  The name comes from the words carved around the neck of the jar.  “Kha’Po Owingeh” is the Tewa name for Santa Clara Pueblo.  It is translated as either singing water village or Village of Wild Roses.  Tammy said that the typeface was important to her when she was putting the words on the jar.  She wanted it to have a classic typewriter or newspaper font.  There are small flowers (roses) separating the words.  Tammy said that it is important to her to add the Pueblo name to her pottery at times, to remind people of the history can language that are imbued in the pottery.  There are clouds around the top of the shoulder and two deer carved and polished into the piece. The jar is carved at various levels.   A good example are the deer where the layers are the flowers, the deer, the legs, the background!  There are also bands of flowers extending down the side. The jar has lid with carved flowers on each side and they are each inset with a piece of turquoise.  It is a beautiful balance to the jar.  Overall, the jar has layers of design and depth with polished, matte, and stippled areas.  Tammy says of her current work:

“I am inspired by the forms and designs of historical Pueblo pottery.  When making pottery, there is intentional placement of every coil.  Once I have a design in mind I’ll make proportions on graph paper.  Clouds on the shoulder will look scalloped after I have them carved.  When the clay is dry I send then polish with a smooth stone over a clay slip.”

Each of Tammy’s pieces tells a story about family, culture, tradition, and personal creativity.  The jar was fired red and is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Tammy Garcia”.

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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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