Joseph Namingha is the eldest son of noted potters Les and Jocelyn Namingha.  Over the past several years he has been making clay bears and has begun work on some pottery.  He has been learning how to make and paint pottery from Les.  This jar is coil-built with even walls, a round body, and a short neck.  The title of the jar is “Kal-El”, which, as you may know, is the name of Superman.  Around the neck of the jar, Joseph has created lettering to write “Kal-El” and “Kent” (for Clark Kent).  It’s great to have him focus on something relevant to himself as the theme for his pottery.  The designs around the shoulder and side are classic Zuni and Hopi.  Around the shoulder in the blue is a design that was inspired by Zuni Ashiwiw polychromes from the 1700s (see last photo) and yet, also seems to match his “superman” theme.  The bottom was supposed to fire a “kryptonite green”, but has a more metallic gray appearance.  The vessel and the painting are strong and show great promise to his pottery.   It is signed on the bottom “Joseph Namingha”.