This is a classic straight-ribbed melon bowl by Nancy Youngblood.  The bowl is coil-built, and each rib is deeply carved into the clay.  The depth of the carving and the symmetry of each rib is exceptional. This is certainly one of the enduring aspects of her incredible artistry.  Each rib is then polished with a stone to achieve the shine.  Nancy has a particular stone that allows her to polish it so deeply, and the result is the piece has a glassy surface.  Note, when looking down at the top of the piece, that each rip has a sharp edge!  This is difficult to maintain when sanding and polishing, but the result is elegant and perfectly reflects the light against the angles.  The bowl was traditionally fired a deep, red coloration.  Consider that each rib has two sides and how much surface area there is for this piece and the lid! Nancy says she can only polish three ribs in one sitting as they are so time-consuming.  There is something visually striking about the symmetry and depth of her straight 32 rib pieces and how the light hits the surface.  It is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Nancy Youngblood 2023”.

Nancy said of her straight rib pieces:

Technically it’s really hard to keep the little end of the rib at the top and the very bottom even and not break.  That’s my style of lid with the round top. My grandmother [Margaret Tafoya] used to do those on a larger scale years ago, but when she got to be in her late seventies she stopped doing that kind of lid. It was tough to do. My lids are different from most other potters’ lids. Some people do “floaters”; my grandmother did that a lot of times. I always like to fit the lid into the piece. That is the hardest thing to do. I fire the lid with the piece.” Nancy Youngblood, Spoken Through Clay