Linda Tafoya-Sanchez is a granddaughter of noted potter Margaret Tafoya and a daughter of Lee & Betty Tafoya.  She is known for her intricately carved pottery.  The jar has butterflies carved around the shoulder.  The base has flower petals carved and the neck is a swirling rain design.  The rim of the jar is also carved with a flower style and it is slipped in mica.  The contrast of the mica on the rim and the fully polished jar is striking.  There is a lot of variation in style, design, and technique on this jar.  Linda was among the first Santa Clara potters to begin using the mica as a design element after she was given some by her San Juan Pueblo in-laws.  The jar is signed on the bottom, “Linda Tafoya-Sanchez”.

“The clay is a really important part of making the pottery. Listening to family members talk about how they used to get clay with Grandma and Grandpa [Margaret & Alcario Tafoya] and how they would make it an all-day venture. You feel that family connection when you are digging the clay out of the earth. It ties you to your home. There’s no other place you are going to find that kind of clay. You think about how many years people have dug that clay out of the earth, how many years Mother Earth has provided that clay for us.”  Linda Tafoya-Sanchez, Spoken Through Clay