Paul Speckled Rock is a grandson of Severa Tafoya but learned to make pottery from Joseph Lonewolf when he was married to Rosemary Lonewolf.  This seedpot is from 1984.  It is an early piece of his pottery.  When he first started to make pottery, he began making unusual shapes, which were very much like “rocks”.  They were immediately distinctive in form and design with a “modernist” form.  This piece is highly polished and has angles creating three “sides”.  It is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Paul Speckled Rock”.  It is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration, or repair.

I remember when Paul first began making his “rock” seedpots.  The first piece of pottery I bought in the 1980s was one of Paul’s pieces!  There was something both traditional and modern in his work.  At the time, who would think of making a seedpot that wasn’t round?!  Today, I’m still fascinated to see his pottery. They are perfectly polished and so the light hits them at just the right angle.  They are difficult to photograph but charming in person!  Charles S. King