Russell Sanchez continues to be one of the true innovators in Pueblo pottery.  Each piece is perfectly coil built, stone polished and etched.  This large bear is one of his classic shapes.  The piece is coil built and then stone polished a deep red.  The designs on the front are the rain and summer and the back are snow and winter.  Note the variation in the heartline which is a series of dots which flow around the surface.  The heartline which extends out from the mouth of the bear. The bear is a symbol of strength and the heartline is a traditional image used to symbolize the heart as the center of power in the animal.  The inside of the legs is polished black. The band across the back of the bear has five rows of square hematite and two rows of turquoise.  On the back of the bear are two pieces of Lone Mountain Turquoise.  It is not often that he creates such a large piece and the result is quite stunning.  It is signed on the bottom in the clay.

Russell Sanchez: Contemporizing the Pueblo Pottery Past