This wide jar by Les Namingha a creative blend of Hopi-Tewa and modernist designs.  The jar is a wide shape with a short neck.  It is fully painted on top with a complex pattern of Hopi-Tewa style birds.  The birds are painted in white with brown geometric highlights.  They are surrounded by complex geometric patterns painted with blue and various color colors fo the rising sun and the morning sky.  The colors are dynamic and the birds seem to float between them.  The base of the jar is the hills of the world below the birds in the sky.  This jar is part of his “Urban Polychrome” series, of which Les says:

“The concept of layering is inherent in our mortal journey. As time moves forward, our memories become layered. Some memories remain vibrant, others faint or hazy. Yet others, obscure or even hidden. Likewise, our experiences, words, works, emotions, prayers and songs build up in layers creating our existence. In turn, our societal interactions become exercises in layering. We see this in evidence with street art or graffiti writing where layers of thought and a desire to express a “proof of existence” create tapestries of color and marks. Blending, covering, harmonizing, dissonance, disappearing. This concept of layering is the idea behind Urban Polychrome and other works in the Urban Series.”  Les Namingha