Lonnie Vigil is known for his use of micaceous clay and is one of a handful of potters from Nambe Pueblo.  He has taken this style of pottery and transformed it from utilitarian into fine art.  This bowl is a very classic shape.  It is thin walled and fired with intense fire-clouds at the base. The fire clouds are dynamic in coloration ranging from white to black.   It is this refinement of a traditional art form for which Lonnie won “Best of Show” at Santa Fe Indian Market in 1998.  This piece is signed, “Vigil” and it is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration or repair.  Lonnie said of his pottery:

“The fire clouds are the result of the fuel touching the pottery. When we fire the pieces, we use cottonwood bark. The pottery doesn’t get fire clouded everywhere but just in certain places. It’s serendipitous they don’t happen all in the same place. This [bowl was fired right side up].  You can tell because the fire clouding is on the bottom. Often they tell me how they want to sit in the fire. I can fire them upside down or right side up. Some of them are just tottering, so that means they want to be with their mouth to the fire.” Lonnie Vigil, Spoken Through Clay