Water is life, and breath, and love. Olivia Martinez (Taos Pueblo) honors them all with this traditional wedding vase. Made of hand-coiled local micaceous clay, it arises out of a large round bowl nearly spherical in shape, with a gracefully angled ridge around its widest point that gives the impression of a lid. From the bowl […]
Olivia Martinez (Taos Pueblo) infuses this traditional micaceous wedding vase with motifs of unity and love. The vase is made in the old way, hand-coiled, lightly polished, and fired to a subtle sheen. The bowl is slightly sculpted, a barely-definable ridge accenting its widest point; each spout emerges gracefully from the bowl, one angled upward at […]
Mountain Lion makes an appearance at each of the Four Directions on this old-style square bowl, flared and flowing open into something new and wholly alive. By Camille Bernal (Taos Pueblo), the bowl is hand-coiled red clay, with a pale yet warm slip. Mountain Lion is painted petroglyph-style on each side in soft Laguna Blue-Gray […]
Camille Bernal (Taos Pueblo) creates a masterwork that blends old traditional shapes with contemporary expressions. Checkerboard patterns in warm red ochre arise and criss-cross like ancient paths from the base of the pot, their lines growing organically into the stems of gently-blooming flowers. Flower groupings are tipped in alternating Santo Domingo White, Laguna Blue-Gray, and […]
This compact vase evokes one of the first heydays of modern Indian pottery. Fashioned in Art Deco style by Camille Bernal (Taos Pueblo), it’s hand-coiled of a a beautifully warm red clay, accented with a gentle pastel shade, hand-painted long-stemmed flowers arising delicately from the base and encircling the whole. Vase stands 7-1/8″ high by 4.5″ […]
This untitled miniature vase by Camille Bernal (Taos Pueblo) is one of Wings’s personal favorites: Fired from red area clay, its sturdy round base slopes gracefully upward, like a traditional kiva fireplace chimney, into a square opening onto the world. The exterior is a paler peach shade, accented with long-stemmed flowers tipped in gentle blues and […]
Poppies in miniature are the theme of this little traditional-style bowl by Camille Bernal (Taos Pueblo). Hand-coiled of red clay, the bowl’s exterior is painted in a soft earth shade, with long-stemmed poppies dancing in petaled regalia of blues and reds, stretching sunward around the bowl. Stands 2.25″ high by 3.75″ across at the widest point, […]
At the Four Directions, tiny scarabs rest among delicate blue flowers on this miniature traditional-style pot by Camille Bernal. Hand-coiled of earthy red clay, the little pot bears a silky slip in an ivory shade, accented with scarabs and plant life in soft natural colors. Pot stands 2.25″ high by 2.75″ across at the widest […]
This stunning little pot melds a variety of ancient traditional patterns into a striking new whole. By Juanita Suazo DuBray, Wings’s aunt and one of Taos Pueblo’s master potters, it’s another in her trademark “corn pot” series. Here, she’s molded the Pueblo’s traditional micaceous clay into a beautiful little pot featuring the ancient “kiva steps” pattern carved out […]
This classic water flask was hand-made many years ago by Wings’s sister, Cynthia Bernal Pemberton (Taos Pueblo). Made of Taos Pueblo’s iconic micaceous clay, the flask is pristine but for the turtle carved in relief on the front. It hangs from a white deerhide thong. Stands 7.5″ high by 6.5″ across at widest point (dimensions […]
Mata Ortiz is a tiny indigenous village in northern Sonora, Mexico, just below the Arizona border. Here, a man named Juan Quezada revived an ancient (and similarly indigenous) pottery tradition that experts have established is related directly to the style of famed Hopi potter Nampeyo. Mata Ortiz pottery features simple lines and elegant workmanship, often […]
Lightning arcs from sky to earth as the buffalo dancer executes the steps that are his prayer to Spirit. He arises from the side of this traditional Pueblo mug, hand-coiled and -formed out of local micaceous clay by Jessie Marcus (Taos Pueblo). Incised across the front are images of the lightning that heralds the arrival […]
Braids flying beneath his headdress of horns, the buffalo dancer moves his feet beneath a storm-swept sky. He emerges from the side of this old-style mug, hand-coiled by Jessie Marcus of the Pueblo’s micaceous clay. On the front, incised lightning bolts arc across the sky. Stands 3.75″ on figurative side (dimensions approximate). Micaceous clay $125 […]
A buffalo dancer traces his steps in the plaza beneath a sky bisected by bolts of lightning. He emerges from the side of this hand-coiled traditional mug, created of local micaceous clay by Jessie Marcus (Taos Pueblo), his horned and maned headdress cascading down the exterior. The stormy skyscape of the plaza is incised by […]
A buffalo dancer steps along the body of this old-style mug, hand-coiled by Jessie Marcus of the local micaceous clay. He wears the traditional horned headdress, mane texturized and braids flowing beneath. Peaks and old village homes, incised on the front, look out over the plaza where he dances. Stands 3.75″ high on figurative side […]
An elder, wrapped in a traditional blanket, gazes watchfully over the wall of an old village home. He arises out of the bowl of an old-style mug made of hand-coiled micaceous clay, his blanket flowing downward to form its sides. The hallmarks of his home, an ancient Pueblo house, are molded in relief on the […]
The singer calls the dawn from the edge of this vintage-style mug by Jessie Marcus (Taos Pueblo). Made of hand-coiled micaceous clay, hair braided in the old way, he rises from one edge to overlook the old village houses incised on the front, against a backdrop of mountain peaks and morning clouds. Stands 3.75″ high […]
Grandmother sings to the corn plants as she works, her head and voice rising from the side of this old-style handle-less mug. Brought forth from the body of this hand-coiled micaceous mug by Jessie Marcus (Taos Pueblo), she wears her hair tied back in the traditional bun, bangs on her forehead. The corn plants she nurtures are […]
Grandmother emerges from within this traditional mug as though from within the mountain etched on its front. Made of traditional micaceous clay by Jessie Marcus (Taos Pueblo), the mug is hand-coiled, the side merging into the woman’s blanket, wrapped around her figure arising from one edge. An image of the old village, sacred peaks in the […]
This vintage-style mug by Jessie Marcus (Taos Pueblo) is made in the traditional fashion, to be cupped in one’s hands like those used ceremonially. Hand-coiled of micaceous clay, it features a horse’s head extending from the rim, the tail flowing down the opposite side of the mug. Micaceous clay $125 + shipping, handling, and insurance SOLD […]
This little mug is made in the traditional style by Jessie Marcus (Taos Pueblo): designed to be cupped in both hands, rather than held by a separate handle. Hand-coiled of micaceous clay, an elder wrapped in a blanket rests on the rim, with an outline of the Pueblo on the front in relief. Decorative use […]
Keep your seeds safe and dry in this perfectly-shaped little seed pot by Benito Romero (Taos Pueblo). Great for storage in the cold months, and useful for dispensing seeds during planting season. Made of the Pueblo’s local micaceous clay; 3″ high by 3.5″ across at widest point (dimensions approximate). Top view shown below. Micaceous clay $65 […]
Three of Taos Pueblo’s potters create affordable miniatures on a regular basis. All are fashioned in the traditional way from the Pueblo’s iconic micaceous clay: The tiny pots, bowls, and ollas are all hand-coiled in the same manner as full-sized pieces, their only ornamentation the glimmer of the native mica, and fired to varying finishes. The […]
VietNam veteran Wilson Appa (Taos Pueblo) has created this miniature storage jar from the Pueblo’s iconic micaceous clay. Compact, round, and slightly domed, it’s designed to hold seeds or other small items. The unpolished surface allows the clay’s native mica to shine through to its full shimmery effect. (dimensions approximate). Micaceous clay $40 + shipping, […]
