Jared Tso is one of the rising stars of Native pottery.  He is a grandson of potter Faye Tso and his pottery is exceptionally refined in technique and traditional in style.  Each piece is coil built from traditional native Navajo clay and traditionally fired.  This is a traditional style Navajo jar with a sloping shoulder and a turned out rim.  The shape is inspired by the classic Navajo “tus” which has a similar narrow shape.  The rim of the jar has a raised band that is incised with a spirit line break in the edge.  The jar is polished in a swirling direction which is intensified by the firing. The smoke and fire-clouds accentuate the polishing strokes.  After the firing, the jar is covered in pinon pitch, which harkens back to historic Navajo pottery when the pitch made them waterproof and utilitarian.  Vessels such as this find strength in their traditional techniques yet are refined in a modernistic manner.  The jar is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Jared Tso”.