This is a striking new larger jar by Steve Lucas.  He is one of the leading Hopi-Tewa potters working today.  Each piece is coil built, stone polished, painted with native clay slips and bee-weed (black) and traditionally fired.  Steve has won “Best of Show” at Santa Fe Indian Market and his work remains some of the most refined and creative.  This jar is made by mixing together two of the Hopi clays created swirling colors in the clay (which can best be seen on the bottom). The jar has a wide shoulder and a slight neck.  The design above the shoulder is a bird wing pattern which connects in four sections. The polished areas are a deep red and a brown clay slip.  Note the complexity in the design and the coloration. It takes more time to polish the slips after they are painted, but the result is also more dynamic as they reflect the light.  Below the shoulder is a star pattern created out of diamond-shaped patterns.  Steve said of these designs:

“I think about the ancients. I used to hike out to Sikyatki a lot when I stayed out at my mom’s place and look at the pottery sherds. You could pick up a sherd, wipe it off, and the design would still be brilliant. I would be amazed at how well the painting had held up to all the weather over all those centuries. I would find some interesting designs, and I would put them on my pieces. Those ancients were good artists and are an inspiration to me.”  Steve Lucas, Spoken Through Clay

The jar was traditionally fired which created the blushes on the surface.  It is signed on the bottom in the clay, “S. Lucas” and a mudhead (koyemsi) and an ear of corn (corn clan).  It’s great to see such strong new work from him both in design and form!