This larger jar by Jody Naranjo is from 2004.  The jar has a wide shoulder and an elongated neck.  The neck and base are fully polished while the central band is matte.  The polished area is etched with wavy lines.  The central section has similar wavy lines encircling the piece.  There are a group of “crazy dancers” along with her classic dogs.  The jar was traditionally fired so there is great coloration around the center of the jar.  It is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Jody Naranjo”. It is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration, or repair.

Jody has said of her work:

“The clay is cathartic. I spend a lot of time carving. That’s my peace. That’s the time I release my energy, any good or bad energy. If I have some issue going on, I focus and the whole world goes away.  I can sit there and build this piece from nothing. It makes me happy. You should do the part you like more. If you like it, you are good at it.  I started carving in the center where the polish didn’t meet and then my polish still looked nice. My carving in the middle was on the matte surface. Before you know it the matte surfaces started getting bigger, and it was less about masking my polishing and more about making my carving larger.  Bigger pieces tend to overwhelm me in the amount of designing I have to do.” Jody Naranjo Spoken Through Clay