Teller, Robin – 9″ Wide Mother Nature Storyteller with 18 Children and Animals (1990s)

WOW!  This is a spectacular large storyteller by Robin Teller (b. 1954) is a daughter of noted potter Stella Teller.  This is one of her classic storyteller figures.  Her pieces were always creative in the stories they told. This piece is one of her few “Mother Nature” Storytellers.  Robin did not make a lot of these pieces as they were so complex and the largest scale of her pottery.  Here, “Mother Nature” has a pueble style hair dress.  There are 18 children, each with different animals.  There are fish, deer, bears, and eagle, and more.  The children are also holding rattles or a drum.  Do you see the children who are giving her boquets of roses!!?  On the shawl of the storyteller there is the church at Isleta Pueblo.  In front of the church are the corn dancers.  Surrounding the dancers is an avanyu, representing the Rio Grande river that runs by Isleta Pueblo.  The opposite side of the shawl has a corn and squash field, along with a rising Sun.  Mother nature is also holding a Kiva bowl, the inside of which is meant to represent a lake.  Inside the bowl are fish, clams, and other aquatic life.  The entire pieces is not just fully designed and painted with clay slips, but also interactive, telling a story about the world around us and how we interact with nature and culture.  Robin was always masterful at this figurative storytelling!  The piece is painted with native clay slips.  The storyteller signed on the bottom, “Robin Teller”.  It is in very good condition with no chips, cracks, restoration or repair.