Ceramic Bowl

Description

March 28, 2009
Part of a long line of exceptional potters, Legoria Tafoya produced pottery using traditional techniques. The process began with clay, dug from a location known to her family, mixed with a tempering agent to decrease the potential for cracking and promote even firing. No potter’s wheel was used to make her vessels; they were formed using the coil technique, in which long snake-like coils are circled around the base and then blended to make walls. The vessel is then smoothed and shaped using pieces of gourd. After it partially dries, it is scraped to refine the shape and surface, and then sanded. Slip (liquid clay) is applied and then burnished with a smooth stone before firing to give a lustrous surface. Next decoration is painted on, which results in matte areas when fired. The black color of the pot comes from clay unique to the reservation, whose high iron content turns black when fired. First wood and dried cow manure are piled around an iron grill and lit on fire; this is then smothered with ash or fresh manure, producing a smoke-filled reducing atmosphere that blackens the pot.