Joseph Youngblood-Lugo 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 is one of the largest pieces Joseph has made. The bottom has 16 rounded melon ribs. Around the rim is a cloud pattern.  Both the clouds and the melon ribs are slipped with mica. Around the shoulder, there are corn plants.  Some are polished red and some are slipped with mica.  Around the neck of the jar are seven carved badger paws.  Joseph said he researched and studied how badgers walk and their tracks, so notice that some have four imprints, some five.  Each of the sections is very deeply carved into the clay and then stone polished red.  Joseph said of this piece:

I made this piece to honor my great-grandmother (Margaret Tafoya), who was Corn Clan, and my great-grandfather (Alcario Tafoya) who was Badger Clan.  In making a water jar, I wanted to honor how they both worked together on their pottery.  For the badger paws, I wanted to show motion as a way to give “life” to the piece.  The piece is a culmination of styles that encompass four generations of my family:  Mica (Sarafina), Water Jar (Margaret), style of polishing with rounded edges (Mela), and melon ribs on the bottom (Nancy).

The piece is exceptional in design and coloration.  It was traditionally fired.  The jar is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Joseph Youngblood Lugo”.  Joseph continues to make creative and thoughtful works in clay.

“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