This is one of the largest pieces we have had from Christopher Youngblood.  He creates intricately carved vessels that reflect a perfect balance of matte and polished surfaces with intricately carved designs.  This bowl is perfectly round, which is amazing that it didn’t warp in the drying state.  The bowl has three large carved avanyu medallions.  There are both male and female avanyu encircling the piece.  They are separated by large rainclouds.  Each cloud has additionally carved raindrops.  The area surrounding the avanyus and clouds is matte.  It takes time to sand down the matte area so that it is smooth and there are no shadows from indentions or ridges. The designs are highly polished to a glassy surface.  The large bowl has a lid that is slipped with mica.  There is a “braided” or twisted handle that is also fully polished.  Chris said it was very time-consuming to polish the handle to such a high shine.  The style of the handle is reminiscent of historic Santa Clara pieces.  The last photos are of the bowl when it was being carved and when it was being traditionally fired.  The photo of Chris holding the piece speaks to its size! It is signed on the bottom, ‘Chris Youngblood”.   Chris has continued to progress over the years and the awards for his pottery, including the 2014 “Best of Pottery” at Santa Fe Indian Market.  He was featured in the book, Spoken Through Clay, and continues to be one of the leading young potters working today.

Chris has said of his pottery:

“I’ve had generations of people before me who have had to learn the hard way. I’ve had that information given to me without having to go through all the struggles. But, I would say on the flip side, having someone so technically advanced as your teacher (Nancy Youngblood), let alone your mother, it’s hard. The expectations are a lot higher.  I’ve learned that now, I never think it’s done. I keep going until I cannot find anything I can refine or add to the piece. To achieve an ever-higher level of precision takes a lifetime. ’s not something you learn, it’s something you live.”  Christopher Youngblood, Spoken Through Clay