This is a highly polished plate by Jennifer Tafoya. The front is polished and the back is slipped with mica. The plate was fired a glassy black and then etched with design.  An Archaeopteryx is sitting on a branch with a dragonfly in the background. Surrounding the dino-bird are feathers, an avanyu, and cloud designs.  Check out the details and all the TINY feathers that are etched into the clay.  Then Jennifer uses various clays to create the colorations on the surface of the piece.  All the various colors are derived from natural clay slips.  It is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Jennifer Tafoya”.  Jennifer continues to be one of the leading innovative potters working today!  She most recently won the “Tony Da Award” for innovative pottery at Santa Fe Indian Market in 2019 and “Best of Show” in 2023!

What’s an Archaeopteryx?

Archaeopteryx is a genus of avian dinosaurs and the name derives from Greek meaning “Ancient” and “feather” or “wing”.  It was long thought to be the oldest-known bird.  It is a bird with dinosaur-like traits. It had wings and feathers, but teeth instead of a beak. The obvious implication was that Archaeopteryx was a transitional fossil, showing how birds evolved from dinosaur ancestors.