WOW!  This is an exceptional jar by LuAnn Tafoya.  She is known for her highly polished traditional Santa Clara pottery.  A storage jar is a particular shape in Santa Clara Pueblo pottery which usually has a round shape and a short neck.  If you have been in Santa Fe over the past year, this piece was on loan for the “100 Years of Indian Market” Exhibition.  This piece is a classic shape with a round shoulder and a sloping neck.  There are four bear paws on the piece.  They are impressed into the clay and then the entire piece is fully polished.  Did you know that the whole piece has to be polished at one time?  Otherwise, the clay slip will dry and it won’t be as shiny in appearance.  LuAnn said of her storage jars:

“Sometimes the shape depends on how the clay is drying. Sometimes you have to bring it in right away.  It is ok you can make it wider and then come in. I think for the first storage jar, I used the puki given to my mom from my grandmother. It was narrow at the bottom. I like the storage jar to come out and put a belly on it and not go straight up right away.  Sometimes it’s drying too fast and you have to make the sides come up. I know my mom made something like this, the really rounded belly type.”  LuAnn Tafoya, Spoken Through Clay

This storage jar is highly polished and fired a striking glassy black coloration.  LuAnn is one of the few potters making pieces of such quality and historic continuity.  The jar is signed on the bottom in the clay, “LuAnn Tafoya”.   It is an exceptional example of her skill, creativity, and commitment to traditional Santa Clara pottery.  It is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration, or repair.  Definitely a piece of history in clay!

“When I was twelve, I remember one Saturday morning my mom said, “We are going to polish today.” I looked at her, and I said, “Polish today? I’ve never polished a pot.” She put up a table, and I sat on one side and she sat on the other side. She started putting the clay slip on some small pieces. As soon as it was ready for me to polish, she would hand me the small pot. She kept putting the slip onto six small bowls. It was like a rotation of working on it. After she put the slip on then I would start polishing, so we keep on going. That’s where I remember starting to work on the pots.”  LuAnn Tafoya, Spoken Through Clay