Rain Scott is the son of jeweler Raynard Scott (Navajo) and a descendant of Marie Z. Chino of Acoma.  He says that growing up in Arizona, he wanted to learn to make pottery but didn’t have anyone to teach him.  In 2011 he began working with origami, the art of creating objects with folded paper.  From 2013 to 2018 he experimented with the art form and in 2018 made his first vessel, an Acoma jar.  He calls his style, “contemporary indigenous origami”.  Each piece is made from thick paper and creates a corrugated texture.  This piece is entitled “Constellation”.   The jar is the second one he has made with smaller pieces of paper, making it a “micro origami” jar.  See the last photo for the comparison in size of the regular pieces versus the “micro” pieces.  The jar has a high shoulder and short neck.  Because there are smaller pieces of paper, there are MORE used to make the jar, but also a much tighter visual design. The jar has a star pattern out the outside and also when looking down into the piece!  The lid is the comet spiral using pieces of paper in various sizes to create the spiral.  The entire piece is amazing in detail, size, and complex form and lid.  It is made from thousands of individual pieces of black and white paper.  There are thousands of pieces of paper used to make this jar! The piece is signed on the bottom, “Rain Scott”.  It’s exciting to have such innovative work in the gallery.

“I call my work contemporary origami pottery.  I came up with them as I wanted to learn to make traditional pottery.  I never had a teacher to show me how to get the clay or slips.  I was always creative with paper.  I started out with swans and then one day wanted to see how I could make a vase.  It took a lot of experimentation”.  Rain Scott