This is an early piece by LuAnn Tafoya.  She is a daughter of Margaret Tafoya and learned to make large vessels from her mother.  This bowl is coil-built, carved, stone polished, and traditionally fired. It is a classic round shape carved with a rain and mountain designs.  The piece is highly polished and fired deep black coloration.  The inside of the rim of the bowl is also fully polished.  The bowl is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Lula Tapia”, which is how LuAnn signed her early pottery.  It is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration, or repair.

“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