Adobe Gallery Blog

When Mark Tahbo brought us this jar on August 16, 2016, he surprised us with two innovations that were new in his artistic endeavors, but we will get to those a little later. Initially one needs only to take a look at the shape of this seed jar and admire the amazing pictorial designs on the upper portion. There are four design panels and each is different.

To start from the beginning, that is, the construction of the vessel, we listened to Mark explain where and why he chose the clay for this jar.  Mark has always admired Garnet Pavatea and her production of pottery so he decided to visit the clay source Garnet used and to gather enough of that clay to make this jar.  That clay bed is on the side of the road from the village of Polacca to the top of the mesa where Garnet lived.

After building the vessel with the "Garnet" clay, as he said, he set it aside until he could decide what decorations to use.  He then fell back to the inspirations from Nampeyo of Hano and her use of Sikyatki designs.  The panel of design with a sweeping red curve, that represents a stylized Sikyatki bird, has multi-colored polka dots on the body.  Mark said he thought the earlier potters would have used dots placed on with the end of a stick rather than stippling as seen on later Hopi pottery.  Arched over this bird is a band of rain clouds and rain.

#adobegallery #SouthwestIndianPottery #HopiPueblo #HopiPottery #PuebloPottery #SouthwestIndianArt #SantaFePottery #FinePuebloPottery #ContemporaryPottery #MarkTahbo