Youngblood, Christopher – Water Jar with Avanyu & Melon Ribs

5.25"w x 6"h

$ 6,100.00

Christopher Youngblood creates intricately carved vessels that reflect a perfect balance of matte and polished surfaces with intricately carved designs.  This jar is not just an elegant shape but exceptional in carving and designs.  The shape has a sharp shoulder and an elongated neck.  Chris has carved an avanyu swirling around the jar.  Below the avanyu are ten melon ribs extending up from the base.  Note how deeply they are carved and rounded out. The surface is highly polished and the jar is fired a striking red.  The matte area is perfectly sanded and smooth, which is always the key to a piece like this jar.  It takes time to smooth the matte areas so that no shadows are created by any indentions or raised areas.  As well, firing a piece red always takes more time and risk.  However, it is certainly worth it when the pieces turn out with such strong coloration.   It is signed on the bottom, ‘Chris Youngblood”.   I’m pleased that I have been working with Chris since 2010 when I wrote the first article on him for Native People’s magazine.  It is exciting to see how his work has progressed 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