This is a tightly painted jar by Robert Patricio.  He is known for his classic forms and use of both traditional and pre-historic imagery.  This wide jar is coil-built and thin-walled. The design is a new one for him, inspired by the sunset clouds around Acoma and New Mexico (the last photo is one I took of the New Mexico sunset colors, if you don’t know how impressive they are in person!).  The jar has a linear step mesa design at the base.  Above are the clouds and the thin lines represent the movement of the clouds.  The diamond shapes are where the sunlight streams through.  Robert said it was very time-consuming to paint all the thin lines and have them consistent and “connect” between each section. The result is an extraordinary jar with a complex pattern painted with native clays and bee-weed (black).  The jar has both an ancient and yet modern appearance.  Robert is certainly one of the leading traditional Acoma potters working today which is evidenced by his stunning forms and complementary designs.  The jar is signed on the bottom, “R. M. Patricio”.

Robert said recently of his pottery:

““The pottery inspires me to keep going.  Keeping the tradition alive in making pottery, that’s how we were brought up.  Our ancestors started making pottery.  It’s amazing what comes of a piece of clay. When you come to Acoma it’s peacuful and quite.  When you look a piece of pottery, you see the same peacefulness.”   Robert Patricio, 2020