This is a new smaller canteen by Virgil Ortiz.  The piece is coil built and painted with native clay slips and wild spinach (a plant) for the black.   The design on the piece is a geometric rain pattern which encompasses the entire surface of the piece.  Virgil paints his designs so that they match the surface shape of his pieces.  Can you see the “spirit line” in the design? It is at the rim of the canteen.  The spirit line is a break in the painting and used on traditional Cochiti pottery.  Virgil has also incorporated his signature “x”, which is the turkey track into the designs.   The piece is signed on the back.   The use of traditional and contemporary imagery has become a standard for Virgil’s pottery as he pushes the boundaries of contemporary Native clay.