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Lewis, Lucy – Fineline Star and Mountain Design Bowl with Lightning Rim (1975)
9.5"w x 5.5"h
$ 2,800.00
This is a striking larger bowl by Lucy Lewis. She is one of the great Matriarch potters of the past century. This bowl is coil built and painted with bee-weed (a plant) for the black and red clay slip on the rim. The bowl has alternating fine-line painted star patterns with triangular mountain patterns. The alternating designs create a dramatic appearance on the bowl. What is unusual is the rim, which is corrugated with a lightning design. Zoom in and note how in the red areas there is a very subtle texture from the implement used to create the triangle design. The corrugation with the lightning has a very complementary appearance with the bowl. The piece is from 1975. It is native fired and has a beautiful coloration to the white clay slip. It is signed on the bottom, “Lucy M. Lewis”. It is in very good condition with no chips, cracks, restoration or repair.
Brand
Lewis, Lucy M. (1898-1992)
Lucy Lewis
Lucy Lewis is one of the great Matriarch potters of the past century. She learned to make pottery on her own and revived the pottery making process at Acoma Pueblo. Her children Dolores, Emma, Carmel, and Andrew, learned to make pottery from their mother. Lucy’s pottery is featured in numerous books, videos, and museum collections worldwide. “Lucy M. Lewis” by Susan Peterson is the most authoritative work on her pottery.
Lucy’s pottery is made from a gray clay-body and formed by hand using coils. After the pot is shaped and dried, a white slip is applied. Without the clay slip, the mineral paints would run off the pot. Next, the design is applied using a brush made from yucca, which holds more color and makes more delicate lines than regular brushes bought at an art supply store. Finally, on a day when the weather is right for a firing outdoors, a small number of finished pieces are carefully fired.
Her pottery features innovative designs and Pueblo traditional forms. Her designs are influenced by the color of the sky, animals, and nature, along with her Native American culture. Lewis specialized in small pots that were usually six to twelve inches in height. Lewis’ tribe, the Acoma, considered the clay she used for her pottery to be sacred. The creation of a single pot could take as long as two to three weeks. In 1983, Lucy Lewis was given the New Mexico Governor’s Award for outstanding personal contribution to the art of the state. In 1977, she was invited to the White House. Her work is part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution.