Artist: Loretta Silas Poleahla
Tribe: Hopi
Dimensions: 9 ½ X (12 x 13)
Traditional pottery methods dating back nearly 1,500 years employ labor-intensive practices including digging the clay. Clays gathered from local sources vary in color ranging from yellow to red to black. Different combinations of backgrounds and paint colors are characteristic of each Pueblo. The polychrome (polychrome is a variety of colors) on yellow is distinctly Hopi. Decorations vary from group to group and include weather symbols, animals, kachina, and other things found in nature.
This beautiful polychrome piece on yellow clay is the hallmark of an exquisite piece of Hopi pottery. The artist is Loretta Silas Poleahla who comes from a family of potters who lived in the First Mesa Village of Polacca. She was a traditional potter who used traditional practices. She gathered her clay, created this pot using the traditional coil and scrape method, used organic materials to make her paints and then painted the piece with symbols and motifs common in her tribe. The pot is filled with painted details of tadpoles and frogs, feathers and geometric patterns that are symbols commonly used by this group. The symmetry of the piece really shows off Loretta's ability to mold and shape the coil. To top it all off she embellishes this piece with the local turquoise. It's a true show-stopper. This is a larger piece than what typically shows up to market and would be a terrific conversation piece for any collector!
