In a week spent exploring themes of directionality and guidance, of mapping worlds and forward movement, we end the workweek with a look at these motifs through the work of Taos Pueblo potter Camille Bernal. And we do so explicitly through the lens of her uncle’s favorite among her works.
It’s neither her biggest nor her boldest, but it’s classic Camille, all soft shades and smooth shapes and a silken spirit. It’s a small pot that’s properly called neither small nor a pot: It’s really a miniature work, and it’s actually an olla, a water jar (one that today would very likely be put to use as a diminutive vase). But whether as vase or as traditional olla, it’s no ordinary piece.
We introduced you to Camille and her work as a part of this very series nearly two years ago, and so I won’t delve into the details of her singular style; you can read all about it here. But to give you a glimpse of her style, here’s how I introduced her work then:
Today, we all perforce walk in two worlds. For some of us, though, it’s more fundamental than that — those of us who have the blood of multiple peoples running in our veins must find a way to integrate our identities and histories on a daily basis. Camille has turned her art into a stunning example of how to achieve such integration: The many facets of her own identity and experience find expression through her chosen medium, the very earth, the clay that she digs and processes herself and shapes with her hands, then accents in nature-based patterns that have special meaning for her. As she says herself: “I find there are many artistic roads to travel. The creative process is a way of discovering the unknown, allowing an intuitive flow that brings new forms and styles in my pottery.”
Most of Taos Pueblo’s potters use the traditional (and local) micaceous clay that artisans here have used for a millennium. Camille uses micaceous earth in some of her work, to add a glint and a hint of shimmer where it’s needed, but her independent spirit has led her to seek out another direction and follow a traditional yet different path. In her own words, “[I]n a modern world, one’s environment is not confined within a geographic or cultural bowl.” Most of the clay she uses is also a local Pueblo clay, found in the canyons and valleys of Northern New Mexico, but it is a warm red opaque earth.
It is that same war red earth that she has used in today’s featured work, washed lightly in a plant-based paint in a pale coral color with just a hint of peach to it. It gives it a remarkably delicate appearance but that’s deceptive; the feel of the piece as a whole is just as remarkably strong.
I’ve also written before about this particular work’s unique shape, and the images it calls to my own mind: elemental motifs that embody fire and water simultaneously, as the water jar assumes a shape more given to kiva fireplaces and chimeneas (portable outdoor fireplaces popular in this part of the world that derive their name from their chimney-like shape), that summon the spirits of the earth to dance in the air. The square neck, corners softened slightly, gives it a sturdy feel, but at the same time, it’s almost indescribably elegant. It also, when viewed from the top, evokes the imagery of the Four Directions against the larger backdrop of the hoop, a look resulting directly from the way the wide round bowl of the jar rises gracefully into the squared neck, flowers swaying upon delicate stalks rising up from the base to travel in their own round dance around the hoop. It imparts a sense of motion to the work that is both surprising and subtly joyous. From its description in the Other Artists: Pottery gallery here on the site:
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 grays and whites, stretching toward the sky. Stands 4″ high by 3.5″ across at widest point, with an opening at the square lip of 7/8″ (dimensions approximate). Another view shown above.
Tewa clay; plant-based paints
$180 + shipping, handling, and insurance
Requires special handling; extra shipping charges apply
Looking at Camille’s olla, especially the view from the top, I see a world in motion: one that moves through the seasons as surely as the wildflowers emerge from the soil and reach for the sky; one that moves around the hoop as surely as our world moves around the sun.
~ Aji
All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2016; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owners.
