LuAnn Tafoya is known for her highly polished traditional Santa Clara pottery.  This is a stunning red water jar.  It is a graceful shape with a high shoulder which just slightly indents before the neck rises upwards.  There is a single bear paw as the design on the neck.  She shape of the jar has a more historic appearance with the slight indented water band on the shoulder.  LuAnn said of her water jars:

“I remember shapes from when I was growing up. I didn’t see how my grandmother did them, but I saw my mom [Margaret Tafoya]. By watching how she did the water jar, that’s how I did mine. The bear paw, my mom told me, was the bear was looking for water. That’s also why the water bands are there on the shoulder and why we use the bear paw on the water jar.”  LuAnn Tafoya, Spoken Through Clay

The jar is highly polished and fired a striking red coloration. It is a new piece from LuAnn and exciting to she that she continues to make pieces of such exceptional quality.  The fully polished pieces are always more difficult to make than the carved vessels, as the entire piece has to be stone polished at the same time.  The water 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.