This is a striking collaborative piece by Christopher Youngblood and Jennifer Tafoya.  It is a jar that was made and carved by Chris.  It was polished by both of them and then traditionally fired a deep black coloration.  After the firing, Jennifer etched the designs into the clay.  The jar has a high shoulder and a short neck.  The birds and flowers were carved into the clay and then highly polished. The birds are a RuFous-Sided Towhee (a type of sparrow) and the plants are dogwood.  There are additional cloud designs carved into the background matte area as well!    Each of the birds is realistically etched with feathers and designs.  Note how they are flying around the jar.  There are also carved flowers and tree branches. Note the detail in both the etched part of the flowers and the coloration. This jar is amazing!  The rim is slipped with mica.  This is a creative vessel but striking in design and amazing in the complexity of levels of carving.  It is signed “Chris Youngblood” and “Jennifer Tafoya”.