Stunning!  This is an elegant jar by Nancy Youngblood. The shape is a classic form with a round body and a straight neck. The jar is carved with very deep ribs which begin at the neck and extend down to the base. What makes the shape work is is the ribs seem to fold around the piece so that the shape remains visible but there is an unexpected fluidity and movement. See how the ribs fold back at the end of the neck and then enlarge near the shoulder of the jar.  This is the difficulty but the strength of this piece is that it remains in perfect balance.  There are sixteen ribs that encircle the piece.  They are carved into the clay and then each is stone polished.  Consider that each rib has two “sides” to be polished and the surface area of the piece is about double its size!  She also made a lid for the jar which was both carved and incised with a flame design.  The flames are made up of individual melon ribs, adding to the overall difficulty of the piece!  The lid fits perfectly into the rim of the jar.  Nancy has won numerous awards for her melon bowls including Best of Pottery several times at Santa Fe Indian Market, along with Best of Show.  The jar is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Nancy Youngblood”.  The last photos show the jar in the traditioanl firing.

Nancy said of this style of her pottery:

In my slant swirl, I carve each rib so that when you look at it, it plays to the light. The light catches the angle of each rib. That’s what I am trying to achieve.  I do that deliberately so that the light is reflected at different angles and at different points across the surface. Lids are so fragile. You have to make it solid and then cut into it to get the shape. Lids are probably some of the hardest things to do with the pottery.” Nancy Youngblood, Spoken Through Clay