This is a tightly painted jar by Mark Tahbo.  He was known not just for his painted pottery, but especially for the blushes on his pottery from the firing.  This jar is from 2000-1.  It is coil-built, stone polished, and thin-walled.  This jar is really Mark at his best. The jar has a wide shoulder and a short neck. The sloping, rounded shoulder is where he would paint the design.  Note the precision of the lines!  There are hummingbirds (or more likely, hummingbird moths) as the design on two sides.  They are separated by a classic hummingbird tail design.  On the bird tails, they are highlighted with red clay. The hummingbirds are highlighted with his famous “mauve” clay.  I remember when Mark first found the mauve or purple-colored clay.  It came from near First Mesa and he said that if he polished it, it would turn red, so he always left it matte.  Not only did it create visual contrast and new coloration, but the matte stands out against the blushes and natural color of the clay.  Part of what makes this such a classic of Mark’s pottery is the open space.  He used the clay surface and the blushes from the firing as part of “the design” and open areas draw the eye to the thin lines and bold colors.  Mark had an understanding of the “less is more” concept of design.  Around the shoulder is a single band, half mauve and half burgundy.  This coloration is almost missed, as it simply draws the eye back to the painted designs.  This jar was traditionally fired to create the blushes on the surface.  It is signed on the bottom “Mark Tahbo” and a pipe for Tobacco Clan.  It is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration, or repair.  It is an exciting and visually dynamic piece of his pottery, especially at this size!

For traditional Hopi-Tewa pottery, there are no shortcuts. I feel that the younger people, they aren’t as fortunate as I was. I was born at a time where I was with the elder women who revived Hopi-Tewa pottery and brought it to this level. I learned the old style. From how to get the clay, how to process it, from start to finish. They were simple, maybe even crude ways, but they worked. Today, it seems like the storytelling is almost gone. I always tell younger potters that it’s one of the most important foundations we can have as Hopi-Tewa potters. A story. Something to lean back on. If you don’t have that root or that foundation, you have nothing. You are just floating on your own. Soak it all in and listen to all the old stories that you can. There are just no shortcuts. You have to learn the hard way and have patience.”  Mark Tahbo, Spoken Through Clay