This is an iconic carved bowl by Teresita Naranjo.  Teresita was a daughter of Christina Naranjo and was known for her deeply carved pottery.   Each piece was coil-built, carved, stone polished, and traditionally fired.  This bowl is smaller in size, but very deeply carved and highly polished a deep red coloration.  The designs are mountains, clouds, and wind patterns.  Each cloud connects to the next creating a unique design that changes as the jar is turned.  It is fascinating how she combines angular and rounded designs to flow between one another.  Note the depth of the carving, as it creates shadows and this was created at the apex of her technical design.  Teresita was one of the first potters to create negative space carving on Pueblo pottery.  The bowl is from the 1970s.  It is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration, or repairs.  It is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Teresita Naranjo”.  It is easy to see how her great-niece Tammy Garcia was inspired by this work of her great-aunt!

“Some of my pieces of pottery are polished inside as well as outside. When we do wrong, we are like my pieces of pottery that I leave rough inside. Even if we polish ourselves outside, we stay rough inside. All my pottery is fired in an open fire, which determines the color. I really do enjoy making pottery, for I know God has given me this talent and the patience to do it.”  —Teresita Naranjo, Spoken Through Clay