Youngblood, Nathan – 9″ Wide Large Gourd Bowl (1980’s)
$ 2,200.00
This is a classic gourd bowl by Nathan Youngblood from the 1980s. The bowl is round in shape and has eight rounded “gourd” indentions on the side. Why is it called a “gourd bowl”?
“The Story of the Gourd Pot. “Remember the story about the gourd. The gourd was asking Mother Clay, why she was just used for shaping the pottery. Why was she not given her own design? So she was allowed to create her own design. That’s why we have this shape, with the flat sides.” Mary Esther Archuleta
Technically, it is a difficult shape to make as the indentations are pushed into the clay and you want to keep symmetry from one section to the next. The piece is then stone polished and the indentions become like small mirrors, reflecting everything around them and revealing any problems with polishing. To create a great gourd bowl, the polishing and form must be in sync. The balance and placement of the gourd indentations work perfeclty on this piece, especially because of its size. The bowl is very highly polished and fired to a deep black. It is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration or repair. It is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Nathan Youngblood” and his hallmark.
Out of stock
This is a classic gourd bowl by Nathan Youngblood from the 1980s. The bowl is round in shape and has eight rounded “gourd” indentions on the side. Why is it called a “gourd bowl”?
“The Story of the Gourd Pot. “Remember the story about the gourd. The gourd was asking Mother Clay, why she was just used for shaping the pottery. Why was she not given her own design? So she was allowed to create her own design. That’s why we have this shape, with the flat sides.” Mary Esther Archuleta
Technically, it is a difficult shape to make as the indentations are pushed into the clay and you want to keep symmetry from one section to the next. The piece is then stone polished and the indentions become like small mirrors, reflecting everything around them and revealing any problems with polishing. To create a great gourd bowl, the polishing and form must be in sync. The balance and placement of the gourd indentations work perfeclty on this piece, especially because of its size. The bowl is very highly polished and fired to a deep black. It is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration or repair. It is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Nathan Youngblood” and his hallmark.
Brand
Youngblood, Nathan (b. 1954)
Nathan Youngblood
Nathan Youngblood is the grandson of noted potter Margaret Tafoya and the son of Mela Youngblood; Nathan has a traditional legacy of highly polished, deep, carved pottery. In 1976, he moved in with his grandparents and began an intense apprenticeship making pottery under their guidance. Attention to the small details was also imparted to him by his mother and grandmother. His work's precision is particularly evident in his forms, which have near geometric perfection in shape and symmetry. Nathan says, "I realize I don't make pots; I'm just involved in the process. The clay does what it wants and goes where it wants to go. I stick my hands in the clay, and where it goes, I follow."
Nathan Youngblood's clay art has evolved dramatically throughout his career. His early work focused on classic Santa Clara shapes and designs. In the early 1990s, Nathan re-examined his experiences with art worldwide and how it could be incorporated as part of his designs. His love of Asian ceramics influenced how he designed his pottery and utilized matte and polished surfaces to emphasize form. As a result, the designs seemed more complicated, less linear, and more ethereal in concept. As a result, he "opened the door for other potters to use clay as a vehicle for their personal and cultural experiences."
Over the years, Nathan has won over 140 awards for his pottery. He is one of only a handful of Santa Clara potters who use natural clay slips to create color contrasts of red and tan in his pottery. This combination of polished red and tan sections with matte or micaceous surfaces has become the new Santa Clara "polychrome." Throughout his career, he has continually built on the lessons learned from his mother and grandmother. This legacy has created a solid foundation for the evolution of his pottery, and "he has set the bar high for any potter to balance creativity, innovation, and technical expertise.