Myron Sarracino is one of the few Laguna potters working today.  He learned to make pottery from Gladys Paquin and creates pieces that are thin-walled and tightly painted. This is one of his iconic Koshari jars.  It is coil-built and painted with bee-weed (black) and red clay slip.  The piece is round and has two spouts.  It is created in the style of a Koshari clown.  It is a charming piece with the face painted on the front and traditional designs painted across the surface, from checkerboard to lightning and fine-line patterns.  The two spouts represent the headdress and are formed at a creative angle!  After the firing, Myron added corn huskk that are wrapped and set inside the spouts.  It is a technically challenging piece and creative in design and form.  It is signed on the bottom, “M. Sarracino”.

What is a Koshari Clown?

Koshari is a type of clown figure found at Hopi or the Pueblos.  On the Pueblos, they are a bit different in purpose.  For a clown to perform meaningful social commentary via humor, the clown’s identity must usually be concealed. The sacred clowns of the Pueblo people, however, do not employ masks but rely on body paint and headdresses.  These individuals present themselves with black and white horizontal stripes painted on their bodies and face, paint black circles around the mouth and eyes, and part their hair in the center and bind it in two bunches that stand upright on each side of the head and are trimmed with corn husks.”