Joseph Lugo-Youngblood is the youngest son of noted potter Nancy Youngblood and a great-grandson of Margret Tafoya.  He learned to make pottery from his mother, so his technical skills are exceptional.  Each piece is coil-built, carved, stone polished, and native-fired outdoors. This bowl is deeply carved with a bird on one side.  The opposite side has the sun rising in the clouds, creating the “bird in the mist”.  Separating them are detailed and tightly carved rainbows and rainclouds.  It is deeply carved and highly polished.  The rain designs are accentuated with mica slip.  The matte areas are perfectly sanded, creating strong visual contrast to the polished areas. Joseph said of his bowl:

My Great-Grandfather Alcario Tafoya passed away three days before I was born. My family chose to pass Alcario’s Tewa name, Bird in the Mist, down to me. I hold my name with great pride and honor Alcario’s legacy through the imagery of rainbirds in the mist.

It is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Joseph Lugo”.  Joseph said it has been over ten years since he made pieces and his new work is creative and thoughtful.

“Our tradition is in the clay.  Traditional pottery is doing the process yourself, including digging the clay, respecting our ancestors, and thanking the earth for providing the clay for us.  The Pueblo pottery from a century ago is timeless and can remain an important source of inspiration in the future.” Joseph Lugo, “Future in Clay”, 2022